Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

"Lesbian Mothers Only" Discount At Park Slope Maternity Store


By

Jen Chung

Published Apr 22, 2011

Modified Apr 22, 2011


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .


By

Jen Chung

Published Apr 22, 2011

Modified Apr 22, 2011


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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.

Tagged

boing boing

discount

lesbian mother

lesbians only

maternity store

park slope


Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE news

Who is enforcing the MTA’s $3 bus fare? For the moment, no one.

The MTA has suspended its fare enforcement unit after a series of confrontations with riders. The NYPD said it won't step in to ensure riders pay.

By

Clayton Guse

and

Ramsey Khalifeh

Published Oct 29, 2026 at 1:13 p.m. ET


15-year-old boy shot and killed Thursday morning in the Bronx, NYPD says

The 15-year-old was shot once in the abdomen near Crotona Park and pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital, police said.

By

Charles Lane

News

15-year-old boy shot and killed Thursday morning in the Bronx, NYPD says

The 15-year-old was shot once in the abdomen near Crotona Park and pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital, police said.

By

Charles Lane


How NYC voters could determine outcome of race for governor

By

Jon Campbell

Early Addition: Is the Cheesecake Factory vs. the Amtrak buttercake our new culture war?

By

James Ramsay

Brooklyn woman hit and killed by garbage truck at Bay Parkway, NYPD says

By

Ryan Kost


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .