When tomatoes, and flour bombs were launched on to the stage of the Royal Albert Hall at the 1970 Miss World beauty pageant, terrifying the host Bob Hope, it was a surefire movie moment. As many as 100 million viewers saw the Women’s Liberation Movement protest, in which they chanted: “We’re not beautiful, we’re not ugly, we’re angry” – a glorious act of defiance against the objectification of women. Yet others haven’t thought of it that way. When the producers behind The Crown tried seven years ago to get a film made about the start of the WLM, it was rejected. But now, in the wake of #MeToo, the script for the film – titled Misbehaviour and to star Keira Knightley and scheduled for release in 2020– is being revived. What other great feminist protests should be made into films, and what can we learn from them , and what can we learn from them?
Sister’s Uncut
Members of the group made headlines when they stormed the premiere of the film Suffragette, lying down on the red carpet with banners reading “Dead women can’t vote”, in protest against government cuts to domestic violence services. Their eye-catching demos included setting off confetti bombs at a Portsmouth council meeting and colouring the Trafalgar Square fountains red. The group has shown how feminist movements can be localised, achieving huge ends from small means.
Chinese #MeToo
The Chinese Feminist Five grabbed public attention in 2017 by walking the streets in bloodied gowns to protest against domestic violence and wearing placards on public transport to demonstrate against sexual harassment. In a place where inciting protest is a crime, they were sent to jail for “provoking trouble” and remained under surveillance. These women have shown extraordinary bravery against the state, and how using the tool readily available to all women – their bodies – can be enormously powerful.
E15 Mums
The women living in the Focus E15 hostel for young homeless people took over the Carpenter’s estate in Newham, east London, in 2013 after receiving eviction notices that they refused to listen to. Their estate was affected by rapid gentrification following the 2012 Olympics, but due to cuts in housing benefit and a lack of local affordable housing, they were told they would have to accept private rented accommodation as far away as Manchester and Birmingham if they wanted somewhere to live – far away from their families and support networks. They drew attention to the number of empty properties in cities that working-class people are being pushed out of. Eventually, the council agreed to house 40 homeless families on the estate – but the group’s struggle continues. It’s a lesson in how to build a local campaign from the bottom up and not taking no for an answerand not taking no for an answer.
The 2017 Women’s March
How did something that started as a Facebook event organised by four women end up being the largest march in US history, spurring similar protests the world over? The 2017 Women’s March is thought to have been attended by 7 million demonstrators, enlisting the support of Planned Parenthood and celebbrities such as Helen Mirren and Madonna. Protesters in pink Pussyhats ridiculed the US president after he was caught boasting on camera about grabbing women’s genitals. The day will go down in history as a moment when a worldwide coalition of women stood together.
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
Ransome-Kuti co-founded the Abeokuta Ladies Club – one of the most influential movements in Nigeria’s anti-colonial struggle – in 1932. The group campaigned against price controls, which significantly limited the income that market women could make, and for the rights of Nigerian women to an education and political representation. Its demonstrations against Sir Ladapo Ademola II’s government led to his temporary removal in 1949 and the removal of separate tax rates for women in Nigeria. Ransome-Kuti was a rare force and is ripe for a portrayal on the big screen.
Miss America protest
In 1968, hundreds of feminists travelled to trash the objectification of women at the Miss America beauty pageant by throwing beauty and domestic products in the bin. Protesters, organised by the New York Radical Women network, held placards and chucked crockery, false eyelashes, high heels and other items deemed to be symbols of oppression into a huge “Freedom Trashcan” on the Atlantic City boardwalk. There were plans to set fire to it – which is where the term “bra burning” originated from – but protesters were stopped by the police. If anything, this shows how fears around women’s empowerment led to them being ridiculed as “bra burners” and surely the time now for a sensible revisiting of the importance of that protest is needed.
Wangari Maathai
Surely a woman ripe for a biopic is the Nobel prize winner Wangari Maathai – the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, who started the Green Belt tree-planting movement with poverty-stricken women in rural Kenya in 1976. Motivated by their basic needs for clean water, fuel, an income and a better environment around them. Maathai encouraged women to take direct action to improve their circumstances, by planting trees, eventually leading to drinkable water and a regenerated eco-system. The women started off thinking they couldn’t plant trees, but today, they have grown 30 million. It’s a lesson in how starting small with individual actions can bring about huge change.
Icelandic Women’s Strike
Perhaps the inspiration behind the global Women’s March in 2017, women were urged to show their muscle in protest against unfair employment practices by taking the day off from childcare, housework and professional labour. At a time when women earned just over half of what men did in Iceland, 90% of Icelandic women participated in the strike. They showed Iceland the power of women by bringing the country to a standstill – a lesson we could learn from here in the UK.
Polish Abortion Strikes
In 2016, the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS) floated the idea of banning abortions in Poland. Krystyna Kacpura informed people of the ramifications of the bill through simple flyering with a strong message: the bill would endanger the lives of women, threatening imprisonment and forced births. Soon enough, thousands were on-side, participating in mass-marches. Kacpura’s stirring speeches garnered the secret support of doctors and gynaecologists and eventually saw the plans withdrawn. It shows us that seemingly old-school methods such as flyering can still send a strong message for change.
Lesbian protesters storming the BBC
On 23 May 1988, a live BBC News broadcast was interrupted by a group of women protesting against Section 28. Many protests were happening at the time, but a small group of women wanted to raise awareness in the media. After breaking into the BBC, one activist handcuffed herself to a camera, while Sue Lawley was midway through the Six O’Clock News, and all were eventually arrested. The protest led to wide-scale media coverage and is the perfect example of making yourself the subject of the news even when the media doesn’t want to hear you.
