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Along with the suffrage campaign, women's liberation activism is one of the most renowned aspects of women's political history. The women's liberation movement (WLM) has often been linked with the 'big city'. This is the first book-length account of the women's liberation movement in Scotland, which charts the origins and development of this important social movement of the post-1945 period. In doing so, it reveals the inventiveness and fearlessness of feminist activism, while also pointing towards the importance of considering the movement from the local and grassroots perspectives. This book has two central arguments. First, it presses for a more representative historiography in which material from other places outside of the large women's liberation centres are included. Second, it highlights that case studies not only enrich our knowledge about women's liberation but they also challenge the way the British movement has been portrayed by both participants and historians. The book commences with contextualising the subject and summarising recent research into the movement in the United Kingdom. It looks at the roots of the movement by offering portrayals of the women who went on to form women's liberation groups in Scotland. The book then analyses the phenomenon of 'consciousness-raising' (CR) and the part it had to play in the WLM's development. The focus then moves to exploring where, when and why women's liberation groups emerged. The campaigns taken up by the WLM were to defend abortion rights and campaign against violence against women.
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows that the women's liberation movement (WLM), far from being a solely metropolitan phenomenon, actually extended its reach beyond the 'big cities' of England and to communities throughout Scotland. The WLM's use of the second wave label was a way to link their activism with the suffrage era, illustrate that theirs was an ongoing struggle and distinguish their work from groups active during their mothers' generation. The book looks at the roots of the movement by offering portrayals of the women who went on to form women's liberation groups. It further analyses the phenomenon of 'consciousness-raising' and the part it had to play in the WLM's development. The book also focuses on campaigns taken up by the WLM in Scotland: to defend abortion rights and to campaign against violence against women.
The women's liberation movement (WLM) in Scotland should be placed within its wider context to understand why it developed in the way it did but also to understand better the ways in which women's lives changed in contemporary Britain. As the 1970s progressed, women's liberation groups often supported the protests of groups like the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). Radical feminism had emerged at the British women's liberation conference in 1972 when a group presented a paper which took a 'pro-woman line reminiscent of Redstockings'. The concept of liberation echoed developments in New Left thinking and allowed feminist activists to widen the campaign against female oppression to include all aspects of women's lives. Campaigns would no longer focus solely on women's public roles as the WLM highlighted the discrimination women also faced in the home and in relationships, successfully blurring the division between the public and the private.
Many of the women dated their interest in 'feminist' issues from their childhood. Indeed, from those that emphasised the personal nature of their politicisation interesting themes emerged about how early experiences shaped their future lives as campaigning feminists. This chapter maps some of these important experiences. Issues such as the mother/daughter relationship; relationships with men; early experiences of education, employment and inter-actions with the labour movement are discussed. Evidently women were taking the lead in many of the major events of student politics in Scotland in the 1960s and 1970s. One major way women gained their political spurs prior to engaging with the women's liberation movement (WLM) was through involvement in left-wing groups. While the changing political and social context taught future feminists the methods of political protest, it was really experiences within the family which provided them with the reasons for their anger.
As in the USA and Europe, consciousness-raising (CR) groups became the key entree for most women who 'joined' the women's liberation movement (WLM) in Scotland in the 1970s. This chapter describes the roots, locations and operation of individual CR groups throughout Scotland. By analysing the practice of CR and looking at the debates and discussions of local groups, the way the WLM developed and operated can be better understood. The theory of CR was first developed in the 1960s by women's liberation activists involved in the New York radical feminist group called Redstockings. The centrality of anger to CR discussions meant that women's liberation theory and practice differed from other women's groups, placing more emphasis on liberation and the personal and emotional aspects of politicisation. In the early days CR was warmly welcomed and widely adopted by women's liberation groups throughout the United Kingdom.
This chapter offers a brief history of local women's liberation workshops in order to establish for the first time the variety of different campaigns and locations of feminist activism within Scotland. During the 1970s a number of women's liberation workshops and feminist groups were established throughout Scotland, from Shetland to the Borders and with large groups existing in almost every major university town. Women's Studies courses sought to introduce students to subjects like Psychology, Sociology, History and English, but with an emphasis on women's experiences. In Aberdeen during International Women's Year (IWY) in 1975 the women's liberation group protested outside an event which was intended to celebrate women's groups in the city. The Glasgow women's liberation workshop met in various places including Shelter's premises, the Iona Community House and individuals' homes. Meeting places differed according to the requirements of the local membership.
This chapter analyses the debates amongst feminist activists in order to consider how feminists in Scotland interpreted international discussions of feminist theory. It first of all describes the forums where debates occurred before focusing on the debates themselves. Reflecting concerns amongst the wider movement in Britain, women debated sexualities and feminist ideologies. Chris Aldred felt that if she wanted to network with feminists beyond Aberdeen then she would have to travel as very few national women's liberation events were held in towns and cities near to Aberdeen. Irrespective of whether women had been born in England, many Scottish-based feminists expressed outrage at the London/Southern domination of the movement. Scottish-based feminists were concerned with the organisation of the movement and its impact on recruitment, and the additional problem of the domination of the British movement by groups in London and the South of England.
The influence of women's liberation ideas can be seen in debates focused on abortion during the 1970s. Abortion was not only a priority for women's groups but was also ranked as an important campaign by trade unions, the Labour Party and other groups and movements on the left of the political spectrum. As Drude Dahlerup has contended, 'the issue of abortion was to the new women's movement of the 1970s what the suffrage issue had been to the feminist movement around the turn of the century'. Forming one part of the international movement for abortion rights, National Abortion Campaign (NAC) was formed in 1975 and aimed to 'build a mass national campaign on the basis of a woman's right to choose'. The Catholic Church became a particular focus for frustration for the Women's liberation movement (WLM) in Scotland.
This chapter outlines the theoretical and practical responses to the issue of violence against women. Women's Aid (WA) was effective in expanding the reach of 1970s feminism. Internationally the women's liberation movement (WLM) played a leading role in theorising the issue of violence against women. Reclaim the Night (RTN) was a direct challenge to the commonly held argument that to avoid sexual assault women should remain indoors and avoid walking alone at night. RTN was also an effective method in mobilising women in other towns outside of the main urban centres of women's liberation politics. Inspired by the work of WA supporters, feminists established a Rape Crisis Centre (RCC) network in Scotland. RCC campaigners also tried to combat myths about rape. Although violence against women activists had been influenced by revolutionary feminist thinking, most of their actions were more directly aligned to a reformist agenda.
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book shows that there was a lively cadre of feminists, who aligned themselves with the women's liberation movement (WLM). It also shows that women's liberation had a much wider appeal, influencing women in many parts of Britain. The book asserts that the fragmentation of the movement cannot be entirely explained by the emergence of political divisions and seeks a reassessment of the reasons given for fragmentation. It demonstrates that more generally many feminist activists wanted to move beyond theorising and towards practical action. The book outlines some of the major debates and discussions which the WLM confronted in the 1970s. It also demonstrates that future research into the WLM must acknowledge the usefulness of looking at its impact in different areas of the United Kingdom.