don't think we can look Dack warus.
What about your relationship to the campaigns of the women's Wellell, abortion campaign, for example. Do you decide Whether you will support d particular campaign? As far as I know Spare Rib has stated explicitly that was going to take up a certain campaign. ourselves as a women's liberamagazine it's understood that it is part of our function to do so — if women are involved in an action, then we cover it.
For example, Eileen Fariweather's article A DOTtion: the feelings slogans' (SR 87) was a long time being discussed verv caretullv when it should be published.
I know you think we didn't give enough coverage to the campaign, but ТОТООР ПОСР ЗМ О Рези in a new way. We wanted to WELC bivalences towards honed to attract more women to the campaign that way.
But on Socialist Challenge we did take a decision to campaign against thought it was a really big attack on women s riahts In Britain. Our campaign news column was chock-a-block full each week paign groups were everywhere.
Spare Rib did not report on the campaign in this way. We tried to cover abortion from different angles, and it quite successful. seems ironic that a socialist should report more Hoot a reminor camedoll than e followed SpazeR followed Spare very closely because we needed inspiration ourselves. Eileen's article was the feature article during the enproblem with coverage, for example over the the campaign, how can this be expressed?
used the feminism' earlier — we're often surprised people don't write to us more expressing their views on certain articles and issues.
•allu do our and if lots of people had written to us about the Corrie camwould have had to discuss a change in our way way criticism didn't come.
Spare Rib doesn't claim to the movement. We are not the only to. When I (Ruthie) first went on the collective ago, I wanted to see Spare Rib a more spot-on Marxist feminist But l've one of its strengths is that it retlects the diversity women's movement, which includes a notion, for example, of male power being very domiHalil.
But which movement are Tony Benn's minority more talking about ment of women which accepts feminist ideas? cam- Do you think majority of these women in up the broader movement accept notions power? How does Spare Rib as a collective reconcile this view of 'male power' the reign of Margaret Thatcher?
It I think the broad movement of women doesn't use a term like 'male power' any more than they like "class day-to-day lives I've no doubt that clearly and react against male privilege and domination.
major asking If there is a made 'passive path.
in Dower fects of ideology on all But it is true that direction readers, argued like Ditch the Bitch' not as a Tory.
But that employing have access this policy?
years behalf learnt that lective might autonomous voice of the Wouldn't Marxist journal, You There?
the vast 'male 'patriarchy' do a term I'm not clear what you're about reconciling our view with Thatcher. Obviously we don't support her and have It. Nor do we support a clear aligned notion of the essential woman who needs to return to the true Thatcher as a token woman demonstrates the ef journal nothing Spare Rib has about USIE because slogans IMG organises they are anti-women. They attack Thatcher as a woman and But t women What about your policy of left-wing groups on the col women in movement.
Why do you have to reflect We feel that we're speaking on women's movement and that to tain have aligned women on the colthreaten that that have been the case with the International Rib?
Group's Socialist Woman?
Have wanted And in the 100th issue... * Decades - interviews with women aged 10, 20, 30, up to 100 finding out how they came into con* The domestication of women - excerpts from Barbara Roger's book about development policies * Nichole's Diary — a woman's diary, letters, and poems during the years she had cancer, describing the support she had from her women friends, as well as her experiences as a lesbian. * Women in the Temperance Movement.
Available from your newsagent, price 40p, or directly from: Spare Rib, 27 Clerkenwell Close, non-aligned women to for ine Would you Speak Actually we did have nonthe editorial board in the early stages of the journal, quite a few. But a movement is different from a party. If the its own women's there would undemocratic exclualng aligned women because the around certain political ideas.
exclude aligned the collective implies that they're not part of the autonomous women s Spare Rib has never refused the opinions women in left-wing groups. But as part of the women's movement we also work around cerpolluca. and autonomy is one of them.
would vou let a woman who was a member of the Labour Party work on Spare automatically. We'd have to discuss it when it came ANNA Coote's article on positive action for women's rights (25 September) compared the demands of the TUC Congress for positive action with the affirmative action programme in the United States, which puts a legal responsibility on employers to draw up goals and targets for women's employment.
This has greatly unionists who have fought to get women into jobs which were previously men's preserve. and the National Campaign for Civil Liberties in Britain are not pushing for any such legal enforcement the unions and the employers. ing unions and management together to try and find areas of agreement for positive action. TUC conference on 18 November asks: 'Is a positive action programme necessary, and if so what form should it take? ference uses the affirmative action programme in the US as a model but comments:
tradition evidence that an enforceable programme tends to the implications of the programme.' Once again voluntary favourable. The document adds:
the activity of trades unionists is not explained.
and the laws that were passed.
discrimination to Discrimination Act An amendment to tain to take action.
So, too, ment practices and set targets to increase representation of women.
can itself be a powerful stimulus struggle.
Socialist Challenge aided women and trade However, as Anna Coote pointed out, the TUC They favour voluntary agreements between The NCCL conference next spring aims at bringThe The discussion document for the TUC convoluntarism, create widespread feelings of resentment - on the part of women who feel that things are not going fast enough, and the men who feel threatened by agreements are 'The time is not right for changes in the law. ' Why we can't fight for positive action to be backed by both the law and The equality legislation of the 70s has been ineffectual because of the inadequate backing of the trade unions, who simply relied on the government What the legislation omitted was the recognition that women need special measures of positive offset our oppression. The sex expressly forbids such the section of the Sex Discrimination Act dealing with positive action, to recognise that women suffer from past discrimina. tion and need special measures to offset this, could be an important step in encouraging women in Briwould an amendment making it obligatory for management to review their employthe The law can be a stimulus but not a substitute for action. Of course, it is trade union pressure and the struggles of women that will ultimately count. But the fight for legislation for affirmative action Such a law would be a lever which all women and trades. unionists could use in the fight for If the labour movement is to prevent women from taking the brunt of the current recession positive action will need to be a crucial part of that
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