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The fourth outpost of wildly popular and very pink women-only social club The Wing opens tomorrow on (ahem) Thomas Jefferson Street NW in Georgetown. You’d be forgiven for mistaking the space, a saccharine landscape of velvet pastels, for a staged set ripped from Kinfolk.
For a cool $2,350+ dollars per year, members, who must identify as women, can access a coworking space, a beauty lounge, and after-hours meetings that range from political chats to DIY flower-crown tutorials. But its biggest draw is its social network of “modern women”—that is, “women [who] work,” Audrey Gelman, the space’s founder, told WTOP. (Never mind that low-income women and women of color have historically been a crucial part of the American work force, and that at $215 a month, only certain working women can afford Gelman’s club.)
As Slate writer and former City Paper arts editor Christina Cauterucci aptly pointed out Wednesday morning, the neighborhood is notoriously difficult to access via public transport, and M Street NW’s reliance on service-sector jobs means that people who work there likely can’t afford to socialize there, either.
Even for those who can, access isn’t a guarantee. Though a spokesperson declined to tell The Washington Post how many women have joined its D.C. branch, Gelman told WAMU that 13,000 women applied for membership across its East Coast locations. (As of last April, The Wing’s first New York location had room for only 650 people.)
So why D.C.? Per Gelman, it’s because women in the city “don’t have anything like The Wing currently as a base to congregate and connect.” We beg to differ.
Here are places in the District, many just for women, where feminism doesn’t come with a twenty-four-hundred-dollar price tag.
A Creative DCacreativedc.com; 716 Monroe St. NE #8
Less a traditional coworking space than a digital collaboration between visual and performance artists, chefs, makers, and designers, A Creative DC is part mission, part arts studio. Check its calendar for events in its brick-and-mortar Brookland space.
BUREAUMondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; bureau.studio; 1800 Wyoming Ave. NW$50+ per month
This coworking and event studio is geared toward female creatives, where members get, among other perks, access to design interns that “help with creative tasks.” (The unlimited bubbly and coffee doesn’t hurt, either.)
Hera HubMondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; herahub.com/dc; 5028 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 100$89+ per month
A female-focused coworking space stacked with legal workshops and business strategy sessions for entrepreneurs.
The Hive 2.0Open 24 hours; thedchive.com; 1231-B Good Hope Road SE$110+ per month
Adjacent to the Anacostia Arts Center, The Hive 2.0 is the only coworking space in Anacostia that comes with 24/7 access, plus a laundry room for the occasional overnight stay or group meeting.
LocaleMondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; localeworkspace.com; 1320 B H St. NE$20 per day, or $159 for 30-day membership.
The H Street NE office is a no-frills work space that gives you the flexibility to pay as you go. Free coffee, tea, and printing with a daily pass.
The LookoutOpen 24 hours; lookoutdc.com; 2439 18th St. NW.Plans start at $50 per day.
Independent videographers and producers get a pet-friendly coworking space with beer, gear, and very flexible membership options.
The Lemon CollectiveOpen by appointment outside of class hours. wearethelemoncollective.com; 3015 Georgia Ave. NW.
A workshop founded by women geared toward activists, artists, and business leaders, where attendees can sign up for killer individual workshops—make your own perfume or furniture, talk #MeToo, or learn how to retire early.
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