Bluestocking Catalogue 1
Dangerously intellectual women, my favorite peach cobbler recipe, and a debut novel challenging white feminist saviorism you can read on the beach
What’s In a Name?
“Blue Stockings” is the derivative name assigned to “dangerously intellectual women” in the late 18th century. Let me explain.
The Bluestockings (or Bas Blue) started when a group of rich white ladies grew tired playing cards as their primary form of socialization and entertainment. These ladies wanted to foster intellectual literary conversations (book club!) Men were allowed on an invitation-only basis. As the story goes, one of the men who was invited initially declined because he didn’t have proper (formal) attire. Mrs. Vesey, one of the ladies, told him to “come in his blue stockings,” the everyday attire of the time. The name stuck.
While people mocked the Bluestockings for being “uppity” and exclusive*, I love that their origin story is actually about inclusion. I read,”come in your blue stockings” to mean come as you are. It’s more important for us to be together than to wear our Sunday best. Screw convention- we have work to do.
I write to you today in that spirit.
In this weekly newsletter, I’m planning to share what is bringing me life & joy. I’m an avid reader, enthusiastic baker, contemplative homebody & unabashed feminist working to become anti-racist and more inclusive, always. I expect to write about all those things.
And also? This year has been a proper shitshow so far, and writing helps me process it. Reading brings me the comfort of knowing I am not alone, and I hope these words provide you a similar comfort.
Here are a few things bringing me some ease & joy these days:
1. Farmer’s market flowers on the kitchen table.
I love zinnia season.
2. Learning to make cocktails.
I’ve always been a bit intimidated by them, but this pandemic has left me with a lot of time. I love creating something delicious & light at the end of the day; I’ve become an avid G&T drinker, even though I didn’t like gin a few years ago. Bri McKoy’s Barcart for Beginners has become my cocktail Bible.
3. Book: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
As soon as I finished this book, I texted my sisters: “you HAVE to read this so we can talk about it.” I read this compelling debut novel in one sitting. Reid manages to make topics like race & class complex yet accessible through her well-developed characters. To me, this novel captures America’s essence at the end of the Obama era, providing a cutting indictment of white feminist saviorism that felt a little too close to home at times, if I’m being honest. Which is probably the point - after all, good art can disturb us into seeing the world in new ways and reevaluating our own subconscious motivations.
I have not read a book that so accurately depicts what most of my twenties felt like: a cocktail with two shots of “desperately sure I’m doing something wrong”; a dash of “lost when my peers seem to have life figured out”; served on the ice of “not sure who I am or what I want.” Reid’s protagonist Emira struggles to know what she wants and what she should do during a time culture claims is “such a fun age” yet feels anything but. I highlighted this quote: “Sometimes, when she was particularly broke, Emira convinced herself that if she had a real job, a nine-to-five position with benefits and decent pay, then the rest of her life would start to resemble adulthood as well.” Man, could I relate.
I can’t wait to see what Reid writes next. If you read Such a Fun Age (or have read it!), I’d love to hear your thoughts.
4. Bake: This peach cobbler.
This is one of the few baking recipes both Noah and I make. Usually I’m the designated baker, but he likes this one so much he’ll make it himself. :) In my experience, the recipe is forgiving and provides the right proportion of peach to topping (almost 1/1.) My only advice: please use fresh peaches that smell like summer. This cobbler highlights the peaches and is not too sweet (yay!), so you simply must use gorgeous, in-season peaches.
That’s all for now, bluestockings! See you next Friday.
*I’m sure some of these critiques had merit - after all, these were mostly affluent women who had the time, leisure, and means to plan and attend literary conversations that weren’t accessible to working-class women.