

Virago Women: Birth of the Women's Liberation Movement
Virago Women: Birth of the Women's Liberation Movement
Despite the ‘free-love' mantra and alternative culture that seemed to typify the 1960s, many women found that their lives and expectations had barely altered. But, by the 1970s, the Women's Liberation Movement was causing seismic shifts in the march of the world's events and women's creativity and political consciousness was soon to transform everything - including the face of publishing and literature. In 1973 a group of women got together and formed Virago Press; an imprint, they said, for 52 percent of the population. These women were determined to make change - and they would start by giving women a voice, by giving them back their…
Despite the ‘free-love' mantra and alternative culture that seemed to typify the 1960s, many women found that their lives and expectations had barely altered. But, by the 1970s, the Women's Liberation Movement was causing seismic shifts in the march of the world's events and women's creativity and political consciousness was soon to transform everything - including the face of publishing and literature. In 1973 a group of women got together and formed Virago Press; an imprint, they said, for 52 percent of the population. These women were determined to make change - and they would start by giving women a voice, by giving them back their history and reclaiming women's literature. Patronized and welcomed, criticized and praised, these women published books that showed the world how they saw it. They took out loans and invested their own money into the company, trusting and believing they could change lives through books… novels, nonfiction and polemics. It is a story that continues today, over 40 years later, as a new generation of young feminists find their voice. This new documentary details the fascinating account of a determined group of women from 1973 to today: writers and readers who fuelled a revolution in how the world sees women and how women see themselves.
Related Articles
View AllWomen’s Suffrage and 3 Activists Who Shaped Women’s Rights around the Globe
For decades, women around the world fought for their right to vote. Many suffragettes devoted their lives to the cause – some even going to jail – and shaped the future of women’s…
What Is Whiteness? How the Idea of a 'White Race' Came to Exist in America
“Whiteness” is a relatively new category, used to describe a race that (some historians argue) doesn’t actually exist. What can it help us understand about America today?
Feminist Progress – and Pushback: 50 Years Since the Women’s Strike for Equality
This year, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of a milestone in the progress of the feminist movement in the U.S., a political event that demonstrated the power and reach of “second…
4 Women Impressionist Artists: Confronting Barriers in the Avant-Garde
Marie Bracquemond, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Berthe Morisot – these painters, all affiliated with the Impressionist art movement, have not received the attention given their…
Notorious to Courageous: Women of the Bible
Women in the Bible play many roles, and while few actually make it into the spotlight, the ones who do leave their mark. But who are some of the more famous - and infamous - ones?…
Woman at War: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Sniper Who Shot Down Gender Norms
Meet Lady Death – the Ukrainian sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who shot down as many gender barriers as she did enemies. Rising to fame in WWII, the deadly sniper played a key role…
Anniversary Overload: 50 Years Since 1969's Woodstock, Altamont, Manson and the Moon
1969 was a year of signal events in popular culture. From Woodstock to Altamont, from the Manson murders to the Moon landing, the events kept piling up in the rush to the end of…
The Mattachine Society & LGBTQ History
The 21st century has had rapid progress for members of the LGBTQ community. But in fact, recent advances in gay rights stand on a foundation that was laid by courageous activists…