Culture Watch

It was 1972. Men were gods. Women raised the kids and did the household chores. Boardrooms were all-male; back when the words for “firefighter,” “police officer” and “mail carrier” all ended in m-a-n.

The women’s movement was young, as were UCLA grads Adele and Simone Wallace, who were twentysomething sisters-in-law. And they were bored with their gender-appropriate jobs.

Simone (a social worker with a 2-year-old daughter) and Adele (a pregnant elementary school teacher) wanted to do something “thrilling and meaningful. As feminists, activists and book lovers, we thought a store with books by and about women would be great,” Simone says. “But we worried there might not be enough literature to stock such a place,” says Adele.

Were they wrong.

The cozy Sisterhood bookstore opened 25 years ago on Westwood Boulevard, where it still stands. It stocks about 10,000 titles by, for and about women, along with music, calendars and jewelry. This weekend’s “we’re still here” celebration really is momentous.

“There were lots of independents when we started out,” says Adele. “The first wave was wiped out by Crown.” Then the chain bookstores started opening in malls. Then came the superstores (a Borders has opened right across the street). “The lure of coffee and all that jazz has cut into our business a bit,” Adele says.

Still, Sisterhood hangs on, by now an institution. How do they make a profit? “We don’t,” Simone says. Adele is learning to be a librarian on evenings and weekends in case the need should arise. Simone teaches English as a second language.

Still, they don’t intend to let Sisterhood fail. “As long as the store sustains us,” says Adele, “we’re determined to do the same for it.”

Next Sunday, a silver anniversary fund-raiser takes place at the Skirball Cultural Center. Gloria Steinem, author bell hooks, comedian Emily Levine, poet Michele Serros, Rep. Maxine Waters and Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, among others, will speak at a $100-per-ticket lunch. For information, call (310) 477-7300.