This past Sunday, my parents and I had brunch at LesbiVeggies, a Black- and queer-owned vegan café. Over our excellent meal, my parents recounted stories of feminist restaurants they used to frequent when they were first dating in the late 1970s. This lovely Sunday afternoon of great food and fun stories was inspired by Alex D. Ketchum’s Ingredients for Revolution (2022). After you read this book, you will view your local feminist café with a deeper appreciation not just for the role this space serves in your community, but for its historical importance in fostering feminist and lesbian culture in communities across the United States.
Ingredients for Revolution reconstructs and analyzes the history of feminist restaurants and coffeehouses in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Ketchum provides a comprehensive analysis of place and space, exploring the multiple aspects of the feminist restaurant/café. Her narrative begins with the possibilities...
University of California Press