Women's liberation collection
Scope and Contents
The Women's Liberation Collection documents the emergence, evolution, impact, and decline of the women's liberation movement and the contributions of some of the major personalities associated with it during the period 1966 to 1977. Material generated by the women's liberation movement includes bibliographies, book reviews, books, brochures, bumper stickers, audiotapes, catalogs, comic books, conference programs, correspondence, directories, leaflets, minutes, newsletters [see also Periodicals Collection], newspaper clippings, pamphlets, photographs, position papers, posters, publicity, questionnaires, reports, resolutions, songbooks, and speeches.
Individuals represented in the collection include Ti-Grace Atkinson, Shulamith Firestone, Betty Friedan, Germaine Greer, Kate Millett, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem. These individuals' files consist primarily of biographical information, newspapers clippings, and published writings, though a few also contain speeches and photographs. National organizations, such as the National Organization for Women are represented; as are local women's groups such as New York City's Redstockings and Berkeley's Women's History Research Library. Feminist groups associated with the Five Colleges and the Pioneer Valley are also well-represented in the collection.
Additional material includes published material and ephemera relating to a variety of issues that concerned feminists in the 1960s and 1970s. These cover the spectrum from anti-feminism to men's liberation to spirituality. Some of the more unique material includes both pornographic and anti-pornographic comic books; and "Consumer products" such as catalogs that document the wide array of t-shirts, bumper stickers, jewelry, buttons, postcards, and posters marketed to feminists. The collection also contains a large number of newspaper clippings from prominent mainstream publications such as the New York Times, Newsweek, Redbook, and Time Magazine documenting both unsympathetic cultural responses to women's liberation and the dramatic cultural shifts ushered in by feminists during their heyday in the 1970s.
Dates of Materials
- Creation: 1959-2006
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1966-78
Creator
- Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History (Organization)
Language of Materials
English.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use without restriction beyond the standard terms and conditions of Smith College Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection may be governed by copyright. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. Researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.
Extent
14.26 linear feet (46 containers)
Abstract
This collection documents the mid-20th century women's liberation movement in the United States. Materials include printed material, bibliographies, book reviews, books, catalogs, correspondence, position papers, publicity, questionnaires, reports, resolutions, speeches, photographs and audiotapes. There is also memorabilia and ephemera. Also included are organizational files of the National Organization for Women, and local groups such as New York City's Redstockings and Berkeley's Women's History Research Library, among others. Individuals represented in the collection include Ti-Grace Atkinson, Shulamith Firestone, Betty Friedan, Germaine Greer, Kate Millett, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Multiple donors have contributed to this collection.
Additions to the Collection
Periodic additions to the collection are expected.
Processing Information
Finding aid revised 2002. Introductory text by Kate Weigand.
Subject
- Friedan, Betty Goldstein (Person)
- Greer, Germaine, 1939- (Person)
- Millett, Kate (1934-09-14-2017-09-06) (Person)
- Morgan, Robin (Person)
- Steinem, Gloria (Person)
- National Organization for Women (Organization)
- Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History (Organization)
- Penny, Lois (Person)
- Feminist Press (Organization)
- Atkinson, Ti-Grace (Person)
- Firestone, Shulamith (Person)
- Steinem, Gloria (Person)
Genre / Form
- Agendas
- Books
- Directories
- Job applications
- Minutes
- Newsletters
- Pamphlets
- Speeches.
- clippings
- correspondence
- photographs
- press releases
- reports
Topical
- Title
- Women's liberation collection
- Subtitle
- Finding Aid
- Date
- 2003
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Revision Statements
- 07/26/2017: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)
- 2005-09-23: mnsss122 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15).
- 2017-07-26T17:48:10-04:00: This record was migrated from InMagic DB Textworks to ArchivesSpace.
Repository Details
Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository
