There is one bookstore in Milwaukee where you don't have to whisper. In fact, your voice is encouraged to be heard. At Broad Vocabulary — a feminist bookstore where soy candles are sold alongside pepper spray — it's not difficult to see how ideas surrounding feminism are confused. To navigate through the fog, the owners of Broad Vocabulary believe that academia and action are the best routes toward understanding.

"Feminism is moving from the streets with the '70s grassroots movements into academia," said co-owner Amy Daroszeski. The owners compiled their selection of books based on professors' syllabi and Internet genre recommendations.

Upon the first step into the comfortable Kinnickinnic Avenue storefront, the books' origins are readily apparent. Section titles echo the names of collegiate studies, such as pedagogy, United States and Global Women's History and social science with a focus on advancements such as civil rights — illustrating how feminism is not separate from other socio-political events and non-gender specific issues.

Seemingly random book suggestions point to certain books that, upon further inspection, reveal what the owners have read or describe authors that have made in-store appearances. One of the largest arrows points to one of the largest compendiums of inclusive language knowledge — a standard dictionary.

The highlighted selection is as diverse as the three owners' personal focuses, ranging from critical theory and social studies to media effects.

Some of the sub-genres of books such as veganism and do-it-yourself crafts don't seem to mesh with the store's focus at first glance, unless they are interpreted to mean the freedom to make personal decisions and also to operate outside of the mainstream consumerism.

Bright gay-friendly bumper stickers, pins and T-shirts are also sold for the fashionable reader, along with peace-motivated merchandise, such as "Who would Jesus Bomb?" stickers (answer: no one).

The couch area is also arranged to be conducive to conversation and the store's events that are open to the community, a venture the owners hope to expand upon. One of the largest crowd-drawing events was the reading of Bitch and LiP magazines and related performances during the store's grand opening in June.

Competing with local businesses for in-store events and bookstore customers has not hindered any of the store's business enterprises as of yet.

The Wisconsin-based independent bookstore, Harry W. Schwartz Bookstore, is situated directly across the street from Broad Vocabulary and advertises for it in their purposefully minimized women's studies and Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Transgendered book section. The popular monthly open-mic nights also do not detract from local coffee shops' businesses.

As for long-term goals, "We just want to stay open," co-owner Kelly Todd said. Not too small of a statement for one of the less than 50 feminist bookstores in America, including A Room of One's Own in Madison.

This number has significantly dropped from 175 bookstores in 1997, according to an article by Kathryn McGrath in Bitch magazine. Daroszeski attributes this decline to a lot of the original bookstore owners from the '70s simply becoming older.

"We have a chance to survive because we are young, breathing new life into the culture," she said. "We're not dying because we aren't needed."

The store initially tried to open as Milwaukee's Feminist Books, but could not obtain a loan because the term feminism is deemed exclusionary. This same rule keeps religious bookstores from having overtly religious phrases in their store names, which Daroszeski accepted as being "a good policy."

All three owners are recent graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and are not removed from social problems plaguing young people, both male and female.

Male-identified individuals are not necessarily "recruited" to browse the store, but should feel welcome because "men also need to recognize that they are boxed in," Daroszeski said. In addition, "chances are (men) have a mother, sister or friend that they care about and want to be treated fairly," Todd said.

Daroszeski also relayed that one of the most troublesome myths is the belief that women are equal because some strides toward gender equality have been made. For any change to occur, minorities — including women — need to "move beyond victim status," she said.

Broad Vocabulary is located at 2241 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. More information is available by calling 414-744-8384.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 8, 2005.