Culture

19

[BOOKS]

Say My Name

Le Bank Books’ new checkout system ends dead-naming of trans shoppers

Written by RILEY MACK

Imagine that somebody learned what your name is but kept calling you something else, insisting that’s who you are,” says Jarek Steele, co-owner of Left Bank Books in the Central West End. “It makes you feel like you’re being a fraud, like you’re lying — but you’re not.”

With this in mind, Steele vowed to change the existing online retail system that allows trans people to be invalidated.

On September 9, these ideas finally came to fruition. Left Bank Books became possibly the first independent bookstore to use an e-commerce system that accepts preferred names rather than legal names, specifically aimed at helping trans people check out with their post-transition identity.

Steele originally came up with the idea when his friend, in the midst of her transition, ordered books from their website. Because she had not legally changed her name yet, all further communications from Left Bank used her former name.

“I was mortified, because I know how that feels,” Steele says. “I thought, there has to be some way around this, this can’t possibly be the way things are forever.”

Steele’s mission was set. But as many indie bookstores in the U.S. use the same checkout system through the American Booksellers Association, he knew the undertaking was going to be difficult.

For a few years, the ABA turned down Steele’s requests, saying that there was too much coding involved. Steele created his own workaround, where the bookstore’s employees would input preferred names manually. Through each sale, this was how Steele and Left Bank Books advocated for their customers.

After COVID-19 hit, however,

Le Bank Books co-owners Jarek Steele and Kris Kleindienst aren’t just selling books. ey’re also creating community. | THEO WELLING

their makeshift system couldn’t keep up with the growing number of online orders. In previous years, only 4 percent of their sales took place online, but that has skyrocketed to 88 percent. This meant that they would unintentionally dead-name many of the trans people who shopped on their website.

Steele decided this was unacceptable. Reaching out to the ABA again, he argued that the system “needs to work as well for trans people as it does for cisgender people.”

This time, they listened. Now the system requires a preferred name at checkout, which becomes the default in all communications.

Steele knew he had to speak out against the previous, outdated system because “nobody is going to advocate for a trans-inclusive system unless they know there’s a problem,” he says. The bookstore owner was intimately familiar with the problem, as he went

“ I was born in a female body,” he says. “Every step of the way for a trans person is difficult because every piece of identification is wrong.”

through his own transition sixteen years ago.

“I was born in a female body,” he says. “Every step of the way for a trans person is difficult because every piece of identification is wrong. Whenever you have to present your information to someone, it erases you and calls you something that you’re not.”

Changing all of his personal information was a very difficult process, Steele says, an undertaking that even resulted in backlash.

“When I tried to change my driver’s license for the first time in St. Louis, I actually got thrown out,” Steele says through laughter. “I got into a fight with the worker. I said I needed to change my gender, and they started to ask me inappropriate questions about my genitals, and I got really mad and I had to leave.” After that experience, Steele didn’t legally change his identity for another three years.

However, with the new retail system implemented, Steele knows that his business will never add to the plentiful struggles of trans people. In fact, when the ABA sent news of the successful update, “I practically danced around the room,” Steele says.

Sayer Johnson, executive director and co-founder of the Metro Trans Umbrella Group in St. Louis, affirms that the feat of Left Bank Books is incredible.

“Whenever you have to provide your previous name for something, especially when someone will call you by that name, it can be triggering or traumatizing. Not everyone has the ability to change their name, whether it be for financial reasons or because of their family,” he says.

To know that there are people advocating for the trans community, Johnson says, “I felt really proud to be in a city that stands up for people like that.

“I’m a bigger Left Bank Books fan than I already was,” he says.

Adding to the success of this endeavor is the fact that Left Bank Books’ advocacy made it easier for all the bookstores across the country that use the ABA’s checkout system to be inclusive to the trans community.

And this will not be the end of its battle for inclusivity.

In the future, St. Louis can always expect innovative advocacy efforts from Left Bank Books, because it is simply part of its philosophy.

For now, the Central West End shop’s staff can be assured that they lived up to the mission posted on its website: to provide “literacy and justice to all.” n

e Burney Sisters. | COLIN LAVAUTE

The Great Outdoors

In pandemic times, it’s challenging to find things to do that don’t put yourself or those around you in danger. And while we’re inclined to suggest that the safest event is no event, we also know that sounds a lot like abstinence-only sex ed, and you guys are probably gonna fuck anyway. So consider these recommendations your condoms: not foolproof, but safer than other options. We only recommend events that take precautions, but ultimately you’re in charge of your own health, so proceed with care. We also list live-streamed events, which are the safest of all, though admittedly not the same. Live-streamed events are the masturbation of events in this way, because — you know what, we’re gonna go ahead and abandon this metaphor before we get in over our heads.

GRANT’S FARM HALLOWEEN DRIVE-THRU

Various times, Thursday through Sunday all October. Grant’s Farm, 10501 Gravois Road. $40 per car. 314-577-2626. Grant’s Farm is going to get spooky this fall, and you and your kids are invited to attend. The beloved St. Louis landmark on Gravois Road has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic but will be reopening in October for fun of the frightful variety. The Halloween Drive-Through Experience gives visitors a chance to do something that they’ve never done before: cruise through the park in their own cars. The farm has been welcoming visitors since 1954, but this will be the first time people will be able to drive through. The system will work much like the many drive-through holiday light shows around town, where you pay per car and roll slowly through many different scenes. The Grant’s Farm experience will feature creepy Halloween scenes, including a medieval, graveyard and even a UFO landing scene. The fee for each car is $40, and kids will get free bags of candy so they can get that sugar rush while rolling through. You can upgrade your experience, too, by adding family packages that include snacks and drinks. All Rides Reserved: The event happens throughout the month of October on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and reservations are required. For more information and to reserve your time slot, visit GrantsFarm.com.

BURNEY SISTERS

8 p.m. Friday, October 2. Old Rock House, 1200 South Seventh Street. $20 to $30. 314-588-0505. The Columbia, Missouri-based Burney Sisters made a big splash in the St. Louis area when they were announced as one of the acts on 2018’s ill-fated (and ultimately canceled) iteration of LouFest. Sure, part of that was Olivia and Emma Burney’s young ages — at the time they were just thirteen and ten, respectively — but equally crucial

Illphonics will be rocking the dock. | COURTESY IMPULSE ARTISTS

is the simple fact that these young ladies can perform. Both are multiinstrumentalists who, between them, can play ukulele, guitar, banjo, bass and keyboards, and Olivia has proven herself a strikingly talented songwriter, offering up heart-on-the-sleeve acoustic folk that would be right at home on a playlist alongside the Avett Brothers. And the harmonies! There’s just something about musically inclined siblings that enables them to lock in in a fashion that seems otherworldly, and the Burney Sisters are no exception. With their mom ably handling management of the group, the listening public at large has taken notice, leading to thousands of followers across social media. Frankly, the only thing stopping them from taking over the world is the fact that there’s a pandemic — once that ends (if it ever does), watch out. A Family Affair: Recent videos have seen Olivia and Emma joined by their youngest sister, Bella, now ten years old. It’s not clear whether she will be performing at this show, which is part of Old Rock House’s socially distanced, reduced capacity Listening Room series, but it is clear that she’s got the same musical gift as her older siblings.

ROCK THE DOCK CONCERT SERIES

1 p.m. each Sunday through November 1. The Riverboats at the Gateway Arch, 50 South Leonor K Sullivan Boulevard. $0 to $25. 877-982-1410. The Riverboats at the Gateway Arch will play host to a ȵoating concert series throughout October, swapping boats for bands at a time when traditional venues continue to struggle in St. Louis. In partnership with 4 Hands Brewing Company and 1220 Spirits, the dock that the riverboats use will be transformed into an outdoor seating area with reserved tables and social distancing in place. Bands will perform on an elevated space next to the dock, offering the opportunity for great views with the Arch as the backdrop. A curated BBQ menu will be available as well, and 4 Hands and 1220 Spirits will provide a selection of drinks for thirsty attendees. This being 2020, there will be measures in place to help slow the spread of COVID-19, including a mask requirement for anyone over the age of nine, social distancing and reduced capacity on the dock. (For more on these safety protocols, visit the riverboats’ COVID-19 FAQ page at gatewayarch.com/new-riverboatprotocols). Reserving a table in advance costs $25 and will seat four people. Those reservations also come with a $25 voucher to be used on the food and drinks. Walkup tickets will be free, but you’re kind of rolling the dice there as to whether you’ll be turned away, since the dock is operating at a reduced capacity. What’s Up, Dock? Some of St. Louis’ finest local acts are slated to perform as part of the series, including Little Dylan, Illphonics and the Soulard Blues Band. The concert series runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday from October 4 to November 1. For more information, and to make table reservations, visit gatewayarch.com. n