The Women's Liberation Movement

Explore the campaigns of second wave feminism.

No Liberation without RevolutionThe Feminist Library

The thousand plus posters in the Feminist Library historic ephemera collection (housed at the Bishopsgate Institute) demonstrate the wide range of activities and issues that the Women’s Liberation Movement was involved in between the late 1960s and the early 1990s.

This period is sometimes also referred to as Second Wave Feminism.

Women’s Liberation: It’s What Your Right Arm’s for, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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The iconic symbolism of the second wave of the feminist movement is still used today.

This is a play on a popular beer ad of the time.

Women Throw off our Double Burden, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Many issues that were at the heart of the Women's Liberation Movement are still central to feminism today, like the unequal distribution of wages and unpaid labour, and their connection with the objectification of women's bodies.

Black Lesbians & gays Fight Back!The Feminist Library

Second wave feminists were militant

Fighting back against racism, homophobia and sexism, and standing in solidarity with those affected my multiple forms of oppression.

Women in Prison, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Standing up for the rights of women in prison.

In the early 1980s, an important group called Women in Prison was started, which is still going strong today.

Fight Racism Fight Rape, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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The discussion on the intersectional nature of oppression was introduced to feminism during the second wave and is at the heart of the movement today.

Women’s Liberation Anti-Rape Conference, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Campaigning for an end to rape, and the culture of victim blaming that surrounds it.

Beware! The Circumciser Comes as a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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And addressing physical abuses like female genital mutilation.

Anarcha-feminist symbol, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Women Unite - International Women’s Day - DemonstrateThe Feminist Library

They marched

Like the great theatrical processions of the suffrage movement, the Women's Liberation Movement marched every year as a form of collective protest and campaigning.

Women’s Action, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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International Women’s Day March, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Marching was a way of coming together for a common cause – to celebrate women and their achievements, and to lobby for change.

Women’s day March, 1975, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Women’s Torchlight Procession, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Violence against women was a key theme.

Many events, like this torchlight procession and the annual Reclaim The Night marches, took place after dark, in protest against the idea that women should avoid violence by not going out alone at night.

Women Against Violence March and Rally, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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There's no Excuse for Wife Assault, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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The Women's Liberation Movement was successful in many of its campaigns, including this one - to criminalise violence in marriage, which was legal in the UK until it was made a crime in 1991.

Women Against Nukes, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Many second wave feminists were also active in the peace movement, campaigning against nuclear weapons.

Take the Toys from the Boys, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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With my Speculum I am Strong! I Can Fight!The Feminist Library

They organised around women's health and our bodies

Second wave feminists campaigned for better women's healthcare, more freedom of choice over their own bodies, and fought against the tyranny of the idealised female image.

Women Beware of Man Made Medicine, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Some objected to the medical sexism that meant many medicines and treatments were exclusively made by and tested on men.

Abortion a Woman’s Right to Choose, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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The 1967 Abortion Act was a landmark win for women's reproductive rights, but remained (and remains to this day, in many countries) constantly under threat.

The Women's Liberation Movement passionately made the case for a woman's right to choose.

Abortion - A Woman's Right to Choose, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Vote No to the Amendment, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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After many years of struggle, Irish women have successfully campaigned to get the 8th amendment repealed. This is a great achievement, but further work is needed for women to have full access to reproductive rights.

Implications of HIV Infection for Women, 1989, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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The HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s primarily focused on the male gay community, but feminists ensured the impact on women was not ignored.

Women! Don’t Just Sit ThereThe Feminist Library

Feminists occupied South London Women Hospital to campaign against its closure.

By this time, it was the only hospital in Britain run exclusively by women and for women, as the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital had been absorbed into University College Hospital and was no longer for women only. There had been some other women's hospitals in earlier times but they were long gone.

Natural Beauty, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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They campaigned against racist beauty standards, and helped teach girls to love the skin they're in.

I Like Older Women, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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They opposed ageism and sexism, in both culture and society.

Sexual and Racial Harassment Fightback, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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They fought back against sexual and racial harassment in public places, arguing that women should be free to go out without fear of physical threats.

GEN Anti-sexist Education MagazineThe Feminist Library

They organised in education

Teachers in the Women's Liberation Movement worked together to confront gender roles and sexist stereotyping in schools.

End Sexist Education, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Feminist and Direct Action Workshop, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Workshops trained up feminists to become activists.

Women’s Studies Day School, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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And women's studies emerged to ensure the history of the women's movement, and inspiring women from the past, would be remembered, celebrated, and their work carried forwards.

The Feminist Library has carried on this tradition by launching Women's Studies Without Walls, where women can learn and share skills and experience outside the Academy.

Make a Break with Women in Manual TradesThe Feminist Library

They organised around workplace issues

Women began to break into traditionally 'male' professions, and established women's networks to support and train each other up in skills such as carpentry, plumbing, and car mechanics.

I’m a Working Class Woman OK., From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Feminists campaigned on workers' rights - calling for fairer conditions, equal pay, and free childcare for working mothers.

Homeworking: Time for Change, 1985, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Especially to support the poorer paid women working from home.

Equal Pay Now!, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Child Benefits Now, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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They fought for women's caring work to be recognised...

Southwark Childcare Campaign, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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...and for improved access to childcare, so that women could be more than just mothers.

Free Childcare Frees Women, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Lesbians & Gays Support the Printworkers, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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They supported broader trade union campaigns, standing side by side with striking printworkers…

Women Against Pit Closures, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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…and miners, fighting to save their jobs, under the government of Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s.

Not My Sister, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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The Feminist Library designed this badge at the time of Margaret Thatcher's death, to highlight her anti-women policies without using sexist imagery to attack her.

Although she was the UK's first female prime minister, most second wave feminists rejected Margaret Thatcher as 'not my sister', because of the harm her government did to vulnerable communities and women's rights.

Lesbian Employment Rights, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Feminists tackled the double discrimination that lesbians faced in the work place – for both their gender and their sexuality.

Lesbian and Gay Employment Rights, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Trust in God She Will ProvideThe Feminist Library

And they challenged gender norms

The Women's Liberation Movement was closely linked with the sexual revolution and the LGBT rights movement, challenging social norms about sex, gender, family and relationships, and exploring alternatives to the traditional nuclear family.

A Woman Needs a Man Like a Moose Needs a Hat Rack, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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They challenged the notion that women are helpless without a man, and some rejected heterosexual relationships altogether.

Lesbians Ignite, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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Second wave feminists fought for the rights and representation of lesbians.

Marriage is a wonderful institution - but who wants to live in an institution?, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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And they highlighted the sexist and patriarchal structures of traditional marriage, in which women are expected to be subjugated and subservient to their husbands.

Don't Do It, Di!, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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This prescient badge, from the early 1980s, refers to the forthcoming (and ill-fated) marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The badge was connected with the campaign within the Women's Liberation Movement for women's financial and legal independence - which also produced the very popular Y B A Wife slogan

Y B A Wife, From the collection of: The Feminist Library
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WLM SymbolThe Feminist Library

Second wave feminists took part in many, many campaigns, and fought on a wide range of issues affecting women and marginalised communities globally – as this tiny selection of posters and badges shows.

There are several hundred more in the Feminist Library, which has been archiving feminist history since 1975.

Many of the badges in our collection were collected by Astra Blaug, feminist author, artist, and activist, whose archive was donated to us on her death in 2015.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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