At the intersection of pulpy horror and a coven-like sense of inclusive community is Good For Her: Richmond’s preeminent destination for femme monsters, wretched women, and nasty displays of the (not so) divine feminine. Good For Her is, among a myriad of other things, a monthly meeting of similarly minded villainesses for a film showing and book club meeting at Scott’s Addition’s very own Starr Hill Brewery, although it has begun to take on much more of a life of its own.
I sat down with the organizers of the event, the minds behind the madness, at Shelf Life Books in Carytown, where the literary half of Good For Her is organized and advertised. We settled between the stacks of tomes and talked all things past, present, and future in regards to the Frankenstein they’ve created together.
Morgan and Liz handle the film showcase at Starr Hill, while Neda runs the book club with the support of Shelflife Books, it’s a well-oiled machine that includes multiple local businesses in its operations. I asked the trio how Good For Her came to be, and how the focus on feminine and queer community coexisted with the element of horror and violence. Morgan, being the founding member, answered: “There’s an element of catharsis in the anger; feelings that are first repressed, then expressed through rage and violence… I think of it as a response to living under a patriarchy.”
Neda chimed in: “These books and movies are taking a story that is traditionally from the male perspective, that violence, with women as objects in the story, and flipping it around.”
Good For Her initially began as Morgan’s pet project, based upon a love for femme-fronted media, but the operation grew once she met Liz at one of the initial meetings, and the two became partners.
“It spread in a very organic, word-of-mouth sort of way,” Morgan laughed. “I mean, at our second meeting only five people showed up!”
Things picked up pace rapidly for the plucky new club when Shelflife Books contacted Morgan and Liz, forging the initial collaboration that would blossom into an enduring partnership. This was when Neda became roped into the coven, assisting in organizing the newly forged book club half of Good For Her’s events.
There’s an immediate punk rock appeal to the operation, as evidenced by the angsty zines and fliers distributed by a grassroots group of ardent members of the club. Yet underneath that counterculture exterior lingered a homegrown earnestness in the trio. I asked them if any money was made by Good For Her, and how they afforded a spot at a popular local brewery. Morgan smiled as she answered me: “The event is free, so we can encourage people to instead spend money at the venue, at the local businesses that set up stalls when we have events, and on the charity raffles we hold.”
The trio run Good For Her on their off time, creating a space for community rather than profit. Starr Hill Brewery hosts their club every month, completely free of charge, and a variety of charities and small businesses appear at the event. It would seem Richmond’s monsters have a heart of gold.
When I met the trio again, this time at their event at Starr Hill Brewery, the sense of community they spoke of was immediately apparent. A wide array of colorful characters poured through the doors, beckoned by crowds of their peers and nearby vendors manning stalls. They gathered around tables, books in hand, chatting and laughing—one could never have guessed their topic of conversation ranged from murder to hauntings to slasher villains.
I asked Neda, the aforementioned representative of Shelflife Books, about this community they’ve forged. “Good For Her connects me to people I wouldn’t have been in contact with otherwise, I’m honestly honored to be a part of it… right now, community is more important than ever.”
The sentiment was obviously echoed by the teeming brewery around us. Even those unaware of the club wandered in and out of the stalls, bewildered by the death-themed memorabilia strewn about but smiling sheepishly just the same. A true interlinking of different subcultures occurred in the venue: goths and horror aficionados browsed a stall packed with illicit VHS tapes, queer groups formed and chatted with animation at crowded tables, punks passed zines back and forth, while the curious and the reluctant paced the outskirts of the event.
Good For Her’s next gathering is on September 18th, with a promise of more gory film and foreboding literature, so come, find your place amongst the controlled chaos. Anyone is welcome at the bustling tables. Join the club, or coven if you’d rather, and experience the event, bones and all.
Main photo: From left to right: Liz, Morgan, Neda
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