Womens Activism in Twentieth-Century Britain: Making a Difference Across the Political Spectrum (Gender and History)

This book serves as an introduction to the extraordinary diversity of women’s activism. Paula Bartley's original research is supported by a range of writing to provide a powerful impression of the actions taken by groups of women from across the social and political spectrum, making the book invaluable to both students and interested readers. These women set out to make a difference to their locality, their country and sometimes the world. The story of women’s activism embodies stimulating accounts of progress and reversals, of commitment and uncertainty, of competing rights and challenging wrongs. The story of women’s activism is not tidy or well-ordered. It is messy and unorthodox. And full of surprises. Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 List of Figures 10 Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes and Debates 12 Historiography 17 Chapter 2: A New Age: 1900–1914 23 Fighting for Workers’ Rights 24 Nothing to Lose But Their Chains18 26 On the Shop Floor26 27 Fighting for Families 28 Suffrage Campaigns 29 Opposition to Votes for Women 32 Protective Legislation 33 Last Orders 34 Pitbrow Women 36 Sexual Politics 37 The ‘Irish question’ 39 Chapter 3: The Home Front: 1914–1918 46 Suffrage Activists and the War Effort 46 Fighting for Workers’ Rights 50 The Women’s Emergency Corps and Its Offshoots 52 Belgian Refugees 53 Women’s Volunteer Reserve 54 Other Women’s Organisations 58 Sexual Politics 59 The Rent Strikes 63 Peace Movements 64 Conclusion 66 Chapter 4: The Not-So-Roaring Twenties: 1918–1929 71 Trade Union Activism 71 Parliamentary Activism 74 Political Parties and Activism 77 Local Political Activism 81 Activism and Women’s Organisations 82 Progress and Setbacks 84 The Law and Sexual Politics 85 Differences Between Activists 89 Family Allowances 89 Protective Legislation 90 Birth Control 91 The Equal Franchise Campaign 92 Conclusion 94 Chapter 5: The Hungry Thirties: 1930–1939 100 The Wall Street Crash 101 Women’s Organisations and Their Campaigns 103 Reforming the Abortion Laws 104 Campaigning Against the Nationality Laws 106 Campaigning for Equal Pay 107 Fascism and the Fights Against It 108 The Fight Against Fascism 110 Italy 111 Germany 111 Spain 113 Appeasement and the Road to War 119 The Munich Agreement 120 Chapter 6: The Second World War: 1939–1945 129 Parliamentarians and Political Activists 129 Fighting for Equality at Work 131 Fighting for Equal Compensation 132 Fighting for Better Pay 133 Fighting for Sexual Justice 134 Women’s Organisations and the War Effort 135 Protecting the Country 139 Women’s Auxiliary Forces 141 Protecting Refugees 147 Opposition to the War 149 Conclusion 150 Chapter 7: The Post-War World: 1945–1960 156 British Housewives League 158 Campaigns for Equal Pay 164 Sexual Politics 166 Local Activism 167 Keeping the Peace 169 The Windrush Generation 171 Anti-Colonialism 172 Chapter 8: The Less-Than-Swinging Sixties: 1960–1970 179 Local Activism 180 Campaigns for Equal Pay 181 Black Activism 184 Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll 185 The New Moral Right 188 Anti-nuclear Protests 189 Organisational and Parliamentary Politics 191 Freedom from Hunger Campaign 191 Conclusion 196 Chapter 9: The Selfish Seventies?: 1970–1979 201 ‘Black Women Together’ 205 ‘Strikers in Saris’: 20 August 1976–14 July 1978 208 Sexual Politics 210 Abortion: A Woman’s Right to Choose vs the Sanctity of Life 210 Domestic Violence 215 ‘We Will Walk Without Fear’: Women Against Violence Against Women 217 Local Activism 219 Campaigning for Disability Rights97 222 Conclusion 223 Chapter 10: Margaret Thatcher’s Age and After: 1979–2000 228 Sexual Politics: Victoria Gillick, Mary Whitehouse and Feminists 228 Black Lives Matter 234 The Southall Black Sisters 236 Black vs White Feminism 239 Peace and War: Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp 1981–1990 241 Civil War in Ireland 245 Women Against Pit Closures: Reality and Myth88 245 The Road to Power 252 Chapter 11: Conclusion: Change and Continuities 260 Bibliography 271 Index 280