"Fuck Portlandia": Feminist Bookstore Ends Relationship With Popular US TV Show

The real-life bookstore used to depict the 'Women & Women First' store in acclaimed US comedy Portlandia has cut ties with the show in ugly fashion, saying that it not only has had a negative effect on the neighbourhood, but that it is also "actively harmful" to the transgender community. 

Having just wrapped up its sixth season earlier this year, Portlandia, starring and created by SNL legend Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein, has been slammed by the In Other Words bookstore which recently planted a "Fuck Portlandia" sign on its door. 

A written statement released by In Other Words management cites a number of reasons for the move, one of which being the suggestion that the segments filmed at the store are "trans-antagonistic and trans-misogynist".

"'LOL Fred Armisen in a wig and a dress’ is a deeply shitty joke whose sole punchline throws trans femmes under the bus by holding up their gender presentation for mockery and ridicule," the statement reads.

"In a world where trans femmes – particularly Black trans women – are being brutalized and murdered on a regular basis for simply daring to exist, dude in a dress jokes are lazy, reactionary, and actively harmful. They’re also just straight up not funny.

"Also: there are no Black people on Portlandia. There are a tiny number of people of color on Portlandia. Portland is white but it’s not that damn white. It’s also a city with a deeply entrenched history of racism and white supremacy. In Other Words is in the heart of a historically Black neighborhood in Northeast Portland.

"We have Black Lives Matter written on our window. Black Lives Matter Portland meets regularly in our space. But as more and more Black folks and people of color have become involved at In Other Words, Portlandia has only gotten steadfastly more white. Oh and also: the last time the show filmed in our space, the production crew asked to us to remove the Black Lives Matter sign on our window. We refused."

The statement also claims that the store only gets a "small flat fee" for allowing the show to film in its premises. 

"This fee does not cover the profits lost by our having to remain closed for filming.

"It also does not cover the additional business lost by our neighbors who at times also have to remain closed for filming. The additional exposure we have received from our time on Portlandia does not provide financial or political support of any kind: tourists and fans of the show come to our door to stand outside, take selfies, and then leave. The vast majority of them don’t come inside."

The IFC network is yet to respond to In Other Words' comments. 

Read the full statement here.