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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Women’s liberation and the miners strike 40 years on

117 replies

Karensalright · 30/11/2023 23:56

Local radio making a podcast, recorded today at my house with my striking miner husband. For the forty years on thing. Brought it all back to me. There was a song we working class women sang,

there were a few lines in it i thought you all might like. From we are women we are strong, a miners wives song

”we don’t need government approval for anything we do
we don’t need their permission to have a point of view
we don’t need anyone to tell us what to think or say
we have strength enough and wisdom of our own
to go our own way”

thats my outburst for today ….sob sob .

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IwantToRetire · 03/03/2024 21:44

ITV news report from today - but I think only shown in the NE
https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2024-03-03/we-are-strong-rally-celebrating-contributions-of-women-to-miners-strikes

Pictures from the march and interviews - and banners!

Karensalright · 03/03/2024 22:42

Just re read this whole thread, dear, dear sisters! Made me tear up again.

Am off to a reunion next Friday night. Everybody’s kids and grand kids going. Cannot wait. Some have died since, the oldest is still with us, he stood to lose his pension on a principle for others he is 90 now!

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MxEWeatherwax · 04/03/2024 14:33

As the granddaughter of a miner I salute you.
The mine in our village was closed and there was/is loads of coal left. It destroyed the village, but we still have the heritage and pride.
I can still remember the poverty but everyone pulled together. My DF didn’t go down mine, his father wanted better.
They are really pushing the 40yrs anniversary on local radio.

Brefugee · 02/04/2024 09:02

Karensalright · 06/12/2023 20:28

Has anyone got/read the new book by Robert Gildea, “Backbone of the nation”

He is a modern historian at Oxford. It is a comprehensive coverage, end to end of the strike with hundreds of accounts. and is a really good read.

in the hope you're still here or checking mentions: Thank you so much for this rec. I ordered it when you made the post, and i finally got it (not in UK) last week. Unputdownable.

Karensalright · 02/04/2024 16:02

thanks @40yearsafterminersstrike

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Karensalright · 02/04/2024 16:03

@Brefugee Cheers am in it BTW fame t last

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Moonshine5 · 02/04/2024 16:20

Thanks @Karensalright 💖

Brefugee · 02/04/2024 17:26

Karensalright · 02/04/2024 16:03

@Brefugee Cheers am in it BTW fame t last

I'm really glad that so many of you had your voices heard. It really is an infuriating, depressing, enraging and gobsmacking read at times.

But the last part, the "where are they now" and "what happened next" is uplifting and encouraging. All the stuff going on at the moment around the women's movement has really depressed me lately. But this book restores faith.

Unfortunately I'm not in the UK so no chance of Hay. I'll pass the info to my friend who always goes.

MarieDeGournay · 02/04/2024 17:30

This is just sentimental twaddle. Unfortunately Greenham Common women had no impact on the decision made to close the air base. That was done late thanks to (male geo politics.

And their impact on the public imagination was virtually nil, and certainly less than the Miner's Wives campaign. They were just seen as ridiculous out of touch middle class hippies, and didn't get much support from women's liberation activists.

And of course did absolutely zilch to help the oppose the sex class war against women.

Whoa! First of all, the Greenham Common Women were women's liberation activists, of one kind, in a movement of many different kinds of activists, and anyone who just saw them as 'ridiculous out of touch middle class hippies' wasn't looking very hard. As well as the variety of women who actually lived there, there were tens of thousands of women who joined in the Greenham protests as and when they could.

Their impact on the public imagination was significant - how could it not be when you had 50,000, 70,000 women from all walks of life turning up at the Greenham demos? After the big demo where tens of thousands of women completely encircled the base, the media coverage was huge and often very positive- one of the daily papers had a photo of the crowd, with a huge two-word headline: MUMS' ARMY and very supportive reporting.

And interestingly, the fact that it was a women's protest was understood and mostly respected.
The symbolism of women working together and sacrificing so much to oppose militarism - often by just making the military look silly - had a lasting influence.

There was the miners' strike, Tottenham Three, Greenham, anti-racism, Reclaim the Night, Birmingham Six, Guildford Four, Women against Violence against Women and lots of other strands of activism going on around that time. In my experience, many women - including 'Greenham women' - were active across several of these areas, including supporting the striking miners.
Not everybody saw it as either/or.

Karensalright · 02/04/2024 18:37

@MarieDeGournay 👏👏👏

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Brefugee · 02/04/2024 19:03

incidentally are there any good books about the Greenham women? I went up twice (once for a whole weekend) with a friend whose hippy mum was there for a couple of weeks. It was incredible.

Karensalright · 02/04/2024 19:05

Was it Helen John who was the spokes person, i met her once maybe search her name?

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IwantToRetire · 02/04/2024 19:35

This remarkable book tells how the women of the Yellow Gate peace camp at Greenham Common took on the law - and in some instances won. http://www.greenhamwpc.org.uk/book.htm

Page has links to other info, eg history of the stie.

Greenham Non - Violent Women - v - The Crown Prerogative

http://www.greenhamwpc.org.uk/book.htm

IwantToRetire · 11/10/2024 20:44

The story of women in the miners’ strike told through music

It’s forty years since thousands of miners were on an all-out strike against Margaret Thatcher’s plans to shut down 20 coal mines – the biggest industrial action since the Second World War.

Alongside them on the picket lines were their wives, sisters and daughters – who played a crucial role in the dispute from collecting donations to speaking at rallies.

The womens’ place in the strikes is now being told in “A Northern Requiem” – which makes its debut this weekend in Chesterfield.

https://www.channel4.com/news/the-story-of-women-in-the-miners-strike-told-through-music

The story of women in the miners’ strike told through music

It's forty years since thousands of miners were on an all-out strike against Margaret Thatcher's plans to shut down 20 coal mines - the biggest industrial action since the Second World War.

https://www.channel4.com/news/the-story-of-women-in-the-miners-strike-told-through-music

Karensalright · 11/10/2024 21:05

@IwantToRetire Thanks

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