Personal Histories of the Second Wave of Feminism
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Personal Histories of the Second Wave of Feminism summarised from interviews by Viv Honeybourne and Ilona Singer Volumes One and Two 1 Feminist Archive Oral History Project Foreword by the Oral History Project Workers Ilona Singer and Viv Honeybourne The Oral History Project has been a fantastic opportunity to explore feminist activism from the 1970's onwards from the unique perspectives of women who were involved. We each conducted ten in depth qualitative interviews which were recorded (the minidisks will be kept at the archive as vital pieces of history themselves) and written up as an oral history. We used the open-ended questions (listed as an appendix), so as to let the women speak for themselves and not to pre-suppose any particular type of answer. We tried to involve our interviewees as much as possible in every stage of the research process. Many interviewees chose to review and amend the final write-ups and we were happy to let them do this so that they could have control over how they wished to be represented. The use of a snowball sampling method and the fact that our interviewees were willing volunteers means that these histories (herstories) are not meant to be representative in a strictly scientific sense. Some women were more publicly active in the period than others, but all our of interviewees had important stories to tell and vital reflections on the period. The oral histories have been included in alphabetical order. They are of differing lengths because some women spoke for longer than others and we felt that to strive excessively to limit their words would be imposing an artificial limit on their account of their own lives . In general our interviewees really opened up to us and the resulting oral histories are highly autobiographical. Their stories of continually fighting discrimination in all its forms make compelling reading lest we should forget just how much was achieved in this critical period. Although each woman's involvement was different and each woman's history unique and personal, there was also a sense in which they were spokeswomen for that time and that their own subjective experiences propelled them into tackling both the public and private obstacles in every woman's way. The maxim of 1970s feminism 'the personal is political' seems particularly appropriate to these women who fought so hard for issues such as domestic violence, sexuality, reproductive rights, employment rights, women's legal rights etc. to be recognised. They struggled so that discrimination could be identified and tackled in all areas of women's lives. Many women spoke of sisterhood and the incredible energy of the time. Some also spoke of extremist rhetoric and bitter divisions. Certainly for our interviewees (as for many women) it was an incredible and unique time that has had a huge impact on the experiences and opportunities that women now have. We are aware that some of the women who were very involved with feminist activity in Bristol in the post 1970 period are sadly no longer with us. The following list is not exhaustive or representative but is some of the names of sisters who were mentioned to us as having been involved but have now passed away. It seems appropriate and respectful to remember them here; Jacky Thrupp, Rosie Brennan, Beverley Skinner, 2 Jose Satterthwaite, and Janet Parham. The fact that their stories may be now be lost forever is a testament to the urgency and importance of this project. We would like to thank all our interviewees, many of whom welcomed us into their homes, talked unreservedly about their lives and experiences, donated artefacts and material to the Archive, provided details of other contacts and went to great efforts to help us to make this project a success. We would like to thank Ellen Malos for acting as a useful initial contact, to Kirsty Reid for sharing thoughts about oral history and feminist research, and most of all to Jane Hargreaves (archive manager) for her unwavering support. We generally found it compelling and empowering to meet such extraordinary women. We are very grateful that they have shared with us these deeply personal accounts and we believe that they feel as we do that this vital period in history should be preserved through the words of the women who helped to shape it. 3 Elizabeth Bird Elizabeth is a senior lecturer (Continuing Education) in the Department of Drama at the University of Bristol. Her main feminist involvements have been: organising women's studies courses and women returners’ courses, trade union campaigns for equal opportunities within university employment, abortion and contraception campaigns, childcare campaigns, the Bristol Women's Centre, Women's Aid, Half the Sky, consciousness-raising groups and the Women's Caucus of the British Sociological Association. Elizabeth grew up in a middle class household in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Her family had a tradition of educating women and she attended a girls’ independent church high school with a good academic reputation. Her father died when she was twelve and as her mother was then a widow, issues of women's financial status became very important to them. Elizabeth remembers her mother as being very involved in the Women's Institute and campaigning actively against the VAT imposed on sanitary products. She also remembers her mother being involved in a campaign against the use of turnstiles in public lavatories as these were particularly difficult for pregnant women to pass through. Elizabeth acknowledges that having this kind of background did accustom her to thinking about issues that affect women. When she went to study at a women's college at Oxford University at age eighteen, she was already pre- disposed towards feminist ideas. In 1969 she went to Cornell University in the USA as a graduate student and became involved in the women's movement which was just starting up there. She remembers being involved in campaigns regarding access to contraception and abortion as those were particularly important issues at the time. From 1971-6 Elizabeth lived in Glasgow where she became involved in 'Women in Action' which was a feminist campaigning organisation. Again a major focus was contraception and abortion campaigns. At this time she also became involved in Women's Aid. In 1974 she joined the Extra-mural Studies department at Glasgow University. She became part of a campaign to have a campus nursery and found there to be a lot of prejudice about the age at which children should be allowed to be entrusted to outside carers. The nursery was promised by the university authorities but was not established until much later. She also tried to launch several 'women's 4 studies' courses but they were not successful due to a lack of interest. When she had first moved to Bristol in 1976 she left her partner behind in Scotland for five years, although they still continued to have a relationship. This gave her a great deal of independence and free time and she was able to get involved in the Women's Centre. She went to meetings, helped to write the newsletter and staffed the rota at drop-ins. She remembers using the pregnancy testing service at the Women's Centre when she found out she was pregnant with her son (on International Women's Day!) in 1981. She also became involved in university politics and the campaigns around the Bristol campus nursery. Again she found that there was a lot of prejudice around the issue of using nurseries for young babies, rather than just toddlers and she had to contend with many 'experts' who felt that a woman's 'place' was at home with her children. She joined a consciousness-raising group which met at her flat for several years. She also became involved in the compiling of Half the Sky (1979) which was an important women's studies 'reader'. From 1976 onwards, Elizabeth took over the running of women's studies courses in the Extra-mural Studies department at Bristol. She also helped to expand the courses available in this area and organise other ones throughout the South West. Many of the women who attended the women's studies courses were already educated but found themselves unable to work due to childcare commitments. Many of them had recently moved from London and had fairly progressive interests and ideals. Lots of the courses formed into campaigning groups which focused on issues like women and the media, consciousness-raising or set up refuges. In the 1980's some of the women's courses began to focus around issues of personal development and growth, for example assertiveness or co-counselling skills. As many of the women on the courses decided to return to work after studying Elizabeth also helped set up 'women returners' courses which are still popular today. She regards these courses as her most important feminist achievement. Elizabeth believes that they are very valuable in helping to promote women's skills and confidence to enable them the return to the job market. She points out that many of the women who have undertaken such courses have gone on to be very successful, often in academia and their research has often uncovered very important findings in relation to gender. She is still regularly approached by women who tell her that the courses she has organised have "changed their lives", and she feels such opportunities for women to have a voice and to have their needs recognised are vital. In terms of more general achievements in the post 1970 period, Elizabeth cites the right to free legal abortion and contraception as being; "the most important issue in terms of women's lives and control over their lives".