How can a beauty salon be a place of political resistance? Stories from the Beauty Parlor provides the answer: by talking not only about hair care or makeup tricks, but freedom, identity, and solidarity. The Berlin-based nonprofit project and podcast of the same name show how women and queer communities use salons as spaces for connection, learning, and self-empowerment — and now as a monthly open book club. The club reads feminist and queer literature with a special twist: each reading takes place in a different Berlin beauty salon run by migrants, such as Syrian Studio 14. The choice of book reflects the cultural background of the host. For example, when Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi is discussed, the meeting takes place in an Egyptian salon. Details about each session — including the time, location, and book — are announced on @beautyparlor.stories.
Behind the project is social entrepreneur Annamaria Olsson, who has already shown through her initiative Give Something Back to Berlin how effectively places of exchange can bridge social divides. For more than ten years, the multi-award-winning NGO has been connecting people from different backgrounds and creating new forms of community — an idea now being extended into beauty salons through Stories from the Beauty Parlor. The fifth podcast episode, Queer Ukraine, was also recently released, exploring how beauty became a form of resistance for queer Ukrainians, both at home and in exile. Recorded for the first time in an active war zone, the episode offers remarkable insights into courage and resilience. Journalists Mariia Krychevska and Ina Constantin take listeners behind the scenes of their filming in Kyiv and Bucharest, showing how beauty, self-care, and solidarity can endure even in a state of emergency. And that’s not all. Through strategic partnerships with cosmetics companies, Stories from the Beauty Parlor aims to redirect a portion of the industry’s profits toward grassroots feminist initiatives, supporting women- and queer-led shelters, educational programs, and advocacy work worldwide.
Text: Susi Churas / Photos: Kateryna Hliznitsova, Kimia Kazemi & Stories from the Beauty Parlor
Find out more about “Stories from the Beauty Parlor” here.
@beautyparlor.stories
