Thesis Anna Gurun Final
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University of Dundee DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Second-Wave Feminist Approaches to Sexuality in Britain and France, c.1970-c.1983 Gurun, Anna Award date: 2015 Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 25. Sep. 2021 Second-Wave Feminist Approaches to Sexuality in Britain and France, c.1970 – c.1983 Anna Gurun Thesis presented for the Degree of PhD University of Dundee December 2015 i Contents Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... iv Index of Tables ................................................................................................... vi Index of Images ................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... viii Abstract ............................................................................................................... x Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 The Politics of Sexuality ...................................................................................... 1 WritinGs on the British Movement ........................................................................ 6 WritinGs on the French Movement .................................................................... 12 Themes and Issues ........................................................................................... 18 Methods and Sources ....................................................................................... 21 Thesis Overview ................................................................................................ 27 Chapter One: Mapping the Movement ........................................................... 29 Early Days ......................................................................................................... 29 Social Profile ..................................................................................................... 30 StructurinG Women’s Liberation ........................................................................ 34 Currents within the British Movement ................................................................ 37 Currents within the French Movement .............................................................. 43 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 50 Chapter Two: Abortion .................................................................................... 51 The Legal Situation in Britain and France ..................................................... 51 Britain ............................................................................................................... 55 The Context of RiGhts ........................................................................................ 55 From Male Involvement to Bodily Autonomy ..................................................... 58 Abortion, Class and 'Sexual Liberation' ............................................................. 64 The FeelinGs Behind the SloGans ..................................................................... 69 France ............................................................................................................... 73 'Notre ventre nous appartient': Abortion and Bodily Autonomy ......................... 73 ii Abortion, IlleGality, and Class ............................................................................ 79 EnterinG the Public Sphere: From The 'Manifeste du 343 Salopes' to The 'BobiGny Trial' .................................................................................................... 85 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 94 Chapter Three: Lesbianism ............................................................................ 95 The Broader Context of Lesbianism in British and French Society ........... 96 Britain ............................................................................................................. 100 Lesbianism and Gay Liberation ....................................................................... 100 The RiGht to A Self-Defined Sexuality ............................................................. 102 'Feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice' ......................................... 107 Lesbian Sexual Practices and Politics ............................................................. 113 France ............................................................................................................. 116 Lesbianism and the Front Homosexuelle d'Action Révolutionnaire (FHAR) ... 117 Lesbianism within the MLF: Les Gouines RouGes .......................................... 121 Lesbianism and Political Identity ..................................................................... 126 The Debate over Political Lesbianism within Question Féministes ................. 128 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 134 Chapter Four: Pornography ......................................................................... 136 The Broader Legal and Social Context........................................................ 136 Definition ......................................................................................................... 136 LeGislation ....................................................................................................... 138 Britain ............................................................................................................. 142 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 142 Early Debates on PornoGraphy and Censorship within the WLM ................... 143 The Moral RiGht and 'Sexual Revolution' ......................................................... 146 The Impact of an ImaGe: PornoGraphy, Violence, and Objectification ............ 150 France ............................................................................................................. 159 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 159 'Sexual Revolution' and the Public Space ....................................................... 160 Sexual Freedom? ............................................................................................ 162 L'Histoire d'O, Violence and Objectification ..................................................... 165 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 170 Chapter Five: Prostitution ............................................................................ 172 iii The History of Prostitution: Legislation and Debates in Britain and France ......................................................................................................................... 173 France ............................................................................................................. 179 The Occupation ............................................................................................... 179 The Occupation and Outsiders: The MLF and Le Mouvement du Nid ............ 186 L'affaire Barbara .............................................................................................. 193 Britain ............................................................................................................. 196 Feminism, Prostitution and Sexuality .............................................................. 196 Prostitute Activism ........................................................................................... 199 The Occupation ............................................................................................... 203 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 208 Chapter Six: Rape ......................................................................................... 210 Legislative and Judicial History of Rape in Britain and France ................ 210 Britain ............................................................................................................. 214 Feminist Approaches to Rape ......................................................................... 214 'All Men Are Potential Rapists’: Male Violence and Social Control ................. 217 Feminist Activism: Rape Crisis Centres and Protests ....................................