“Resisting Boundaries, Rise and Resist : Fighting for Women’s Right in the 1960s and 1970s” By Jeannette Hartley : An Exhibition Showcasing the Fight for Women’s Rights at the University of Essex _  

An extraordinary exhibition curated by MA History student Jeanette Hartley brings to light the fight for women’s rights in the 1960s and 1970s through the University of Essex Archives. 
The exhibition, displayed on the First Floor Landing of the Albert Sloman Library, comprises five thematic spaces, each highlighting significant moments in feminist protests. Using historical evidence preserved in the university archives, the exhibition enriches its narrative with film, photographs, and other artifacts, offering a layered exploration of these pivotal years.
When visiting the exhibition, seeing how university of Essex was, and is still active in relation to the Women’s Liberation Movement and the ongoing fights for women rights, particularly drew my attention. 
Truly serving as an ingenious epicentre of discussion for feminism University of Essex students were and are resourceful in their various methods of resistance. Thanks to the fantastic work of Jeanette Hartley we can understand the evolution of feminism activism on campus.
The first highlight of the exhibition is the 1969 women’s liberation meeting held during the “Festival of Revolution” at the University of Essex. Despite scarce documentary evidence of women’s groups from that time, fragments such as newspaper reports help reconstruct these events. 

Photo taken by Austin Reeve circa 1969, Essex’s Revolutionary Festival, Lecture Theatre Building.

Sheila Rowbotham, Sally Alexander, and Jean McCrindle— all prominent feminist figures—attended what was described as their “first public meeting,” held in a lecture hall on Colchester’s campus in February 1969.

Sheila Rowbotham is an English socialist feminist theorist and historian, she is the author of many notable books in the field of women's studies. Sally Alexander is an English historian and feminist activist she was notoriously the organiser of the 1970 Miss World protest and Jean McCrindle is a feminist, socialist, as well as the leading figure in the “Women Against Pit Closures” movement.

This event was not without challenges. Male students attempted to disrupt the proceedings, running in and out of the room and mocking the speakers. While their antics created a “chaotic and fraught” atmosphere, the meeting marked a turning point in feminist organizing at Essex and beyond.

It is sobering to consider that even in an academic setting, where the exchange of ideas should be paramount, feminist voices were met with such hostility. Yet, this only underscores the resilience of the women who continued to push forward.

By 1970, feminist discourse at Essex had found a new outlet in Anvil, the Women’s Liberation magazine. A University Column article in the Essex County Standard on May 29, 1970, mentions the magazine, highlighting its arguments about the exploitation of women in industry, marriage, and society. While acknowledging the importance of these issues, the article betrays a patronizing tone, evidenced in statements like, “One sees they have a case when nine million women contribute by work to our economy with only one in ten getting equal pay with men.”

Worse still was the language in a 1970 headline: “University Women Shape Up for the Sex War.” While ostensibly reporting on women’s activism, such framing trivializes the movement, reducing it to a battle of the sexes.

Adding insult to injury, illustrations accompanying these articles often included gratuitous imagery, such as bare breasts, undermining the seriousness of the feminist cause. These elements serve as a stark reminder of the biases feminists faced in their fight to be heard and respected.

Fast forward to 2013, and the University of Essex Student Union made headlines by joining the “No More Page 3” campaign.

In a decisive act, on the13th of October,  they banned tabloids like The Sun and The Star from campus store, taking a firm stand against the objectification of women. Chantel Le Carpentier, the vice-president for welfare, expressed the union’s motivation succinctly: “Boobs aren’t news.”

The campaign marked a shift from responding to media bias to actively challenging and reforming it. Covering the revealing images of women with stickers and ultimately removing the tabloids from campus sent a clear message: the university community valued women for their skills and personalities, not their appearance. 

The nature of protest continued to shift with the advent of social media. 

While in the digital age of activism, in 2019, Marina Cusi Sanchez’s play Plucked ignited the #WeAreTired campaign, drawing attention to sexual harassment on campus and examining rape culture in UK universities. 

These demonstrations achieved tangible results, prompting a review and overhaul of the University of Essex’s sexual harassment policies. If you are interested in that story I invite you to read it directly from her Reflections on being a feminist activist at Essex | Blog | University of Essex.This stands in contrast to the fragmented and often marginalized coverage feminist efforts received in the 1960s and 1970s. 

The exhibition curated by Jeanette Hartley masterfully captures the ongoing struggle for gender equality. From the chaotic lecture halls of 1969 to the protests of #WeAreTired, it traces a continuum of resilience, adaptation, and progress. 

Visitors are encouraged to reflect on the parallels between past and present: the mocking interruptions of the 1969 meeting and the trivializing headlines of 1970 echo, albeit in different forms, in the challenges feminists face today.