"Lesbian Mothers Only" Discount At Park Slope Maternity Store

Finally, proof that Park Slope lesbians have all the fun, or at least some of the discounts: Brokelyn reveals that maternity store Boing Boing has been offering a 10% discount to lesbian mothers. Owner Karen Paperno "says she has about one taker a day. She also fields occasional complaints," explaining, “The lesbians love it and the gay males get upset. But their disposable income is so much higher than women’s. Men just make more than women.”

Paperno, who married to a man, doesn't think she's breaking any laws and says that she brought back the discount, which was first offered in the 1990s, "as part of her push to be more personally involved with the store after its customer service took a drubbing on Yelp." (Here's an example review.) She told Brokelyn that she opened the store 15 years ago, "My first day here I saw a big pin on the sidewalk for the Lesbian Herstory Archives and I thought, ‘what a cool neighborhood,'" and she doesn't even demand that lesbian mothers offered proof that they are in fact lesbian mothers!

She adds, "People have gotten upset but it’s my store and I have the right to do it. I offer hardship discounts of all kinds, all the time. This is just one that I advertise." Just don't get Colin Quinn started on this.

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By Jen Chung in News on April 22, 2011 6:11 PM

Comments [rss]

richsol

Firstly, what wage gap there is is in the favor of women - 8% higher for the same field and work history, and women have lower unemployment - http://online.wsj.com/article/... . This is blatantly discriminatory and wish godspeed to whomever sues these sexists over it.

PicoPhreako69

"...and the gay males get upset."

Sweeties, unless you have a womb, STFU.

Steven Harris

So single mothers who arguably by the logic of this owner, get no discount unless they're lesbians?

PicoPhreako69

Nah, I'd think that as long as said mothers are at least "female", they don't have to "prove" they're gay. Then again, it ain't my store so I have no idea.

robingee

SPECIAL TREATMENT! HATE CRIME!

aspiringrapper

Closet case.

Mr. Know-It-All

Oh puh-LEEZ! Offer your discount to whomever you want for what ever reason you want. As you say, it's your store. But spare me the canned, p.c. bullshit generalization about gay men's incomes being "so much higher than women's." You're a boutique baby store in Park fucking Slope, for crying out loud. No one's child is going to go naked because you didn't offer a 10% discount on a $60 onesie. It's just more parents with money in the door, that's all. And, don't kid yourself, if there were 10 times as many gay male parents in Park Slope as lesbian parents instead of the reverse, you'd be offering your discount to the men.