‘Women Are Far Too Sweet for This Kind of Game’: Women, Feminism and Student Politics in Scotland, c.1968–c.1979

Abstract

A male student writing in the Strathclyde Telegraph, the University of Strathclyde’s student newspaper, commented in 1968 that ‘women are far too sweet for this kind of game’ (The Strathclyde Telegraph, 13 February 1968, p. 12). Discussions about women and their changing role emerged in student newspapers in the late 1960s. This was because in the 1960s higher education widened access to a number of underrepresented groups including women. This not only changed the look and feel of student life but it also led to a number of important debates and discussions about gender relations and the emergence of feminism more widely in Scottish society. This chapter will explore these debates and discussions, using them as a lens through which we can gain a greater understanding of the changing roles of women and men in this period. Indeed, although the student population was changing, views about women were much slower to change and this is why looking at student politics is so useful and interesting in our understanding of gender relations. Often viewed as ‘dollies’, ‘decorative’ and ‘sweet’, women found that while they were welcomed on to university campuses to study, this was not the case when trying to participate in student politics. This led to an interesting clash of cultures and opinions when a number of women challenged these views: first, through the claiming of space on campus; secondly, through taking the lead in university disputes; and finally in contributing to the politicisation of the wider student population with fresh new analyses of issues such as rape, abortion and contraception. This chapter will consider these three aspects and in doing so will highlight how much women contributed to changing the organisation and operation of students’ unions. Furthermore, this chapter will argue that looking at female students and the challenges they faced when at university is very important in our understanding of the development of feminism in the post-1945 period more generally. Indeed, it will be shown that university campuses became a key site in the development of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Scotland, indicating the relevance of student politics to the political life of Scotland.