The Women’s Liberation Movement and the Politics of Class in Britain. By George Stevenson

Abstract

This is an important book which breaks new ground in relation to the women’s liberation movement (WLM) and class in 1970s Britain. It takes an oral history approach, paying attention to the need for reflexivity when interpreting oral testimony. Stevenson has an extensive grasp of WLM historiography and shows tremendous skill in grappling with a range of interpretive frameworks. Stevenson argues that most women in the movement did not reject class analysis but realised the interconnected nature of class and gender and critically engaged with the latter. He acknowledges that whilst the demographic of the WLM was largely white and middle class, working class women were present throughout and that support was forthcoming for their struggles. He seeks to uncover and explore these lost voices. Historians have already made use of some of these biographical accounts of working class women in the WLM. What is original here is that Stevenson takes on board a very wide range of life histories and subjects them to forensic analysis.