“Are we anarchist?” Senia Hardwick asked. “Technically, yes.” Mx. Hardwick, 27, who prefers not to be assigned a gender — and also insists on the gender-neutral Mx. in place of Ms. or Mr. — is a staff member at Bluestockings, a bookshop and activist center at 172 Allen Street on the Lower East Side. Mx. Hardwick was explaining that the ethos of Bluestockings, which is run by a collective of volunteers, is difficult to classify. But if you must: “Anarchist is O.K.”

Bluestockings opened in 1999 and then reopened in 2003 after a financial downturn caused the original owner to sell it. The collective is made up of volunteers who work three-hour shifts once a week; staff members who work more hours and have had more training; and a third tier of people who handle logistics. Ages range from midteens to late 30s. “Nobody gets paid,” Mx. Hardwick said. “All money made goes back into the store.”

The store, which has designated itself a “safer space” — a place for like-minded people to share their views — deals in a vast array of books and zines like “A Pocket Guide to Not Harassing People,” “Shortandqueer” and “Dear White People.” With the Black Lives Matter movement expanding and issues of gender and sexuality becoming more prominent, Bluestockings has found itself as a kind of clearinghouse for tolerance and radical ideas.

In the back of the shop is a potpourri shelf, and on display are eco-friendly feminine-hygiene products; buttons that say “Stop Victim Blaming” and “End Rape Culture”; and tote bags proclaiming, “Speak Up! This Isn’t a Library.” There are even games for sale — well, one: “The Resistance,” in which the objective is to “bring the government to its knees.”