Protests at the Miss World contest in London 1970: about us
Jenny Fortune
Born in 1949, Jenny's story starts in Croydon, daughter of a car dealer with old fashioned ideas about a woman's place. Her story takes us through a revolutionary awakening at Essex University, in a van load of women driving to the Miss World protest 'fired up with disgust, bravado and anxiety' and how that experience transformed her life into one of lifelong activism and excitement, through her experiences in squatting in East London to working as an architect in Sheffield.
Jane Grant
Born in New York, Jane came to London in 1965 to study filmmaking and the radical potential of film. The Women's Liberation conference in 1970 led to activism with other women – including the 1970 Miss World protest. She became a midwife in the 70s and, with many others, has been active in applying feminist principles to care, education and research since. An accident at 60 stimulated interests in ageing, the representation of old women in feature films, and disability. She loves being with her grandsons.
Sue Finch
One of the protesters against the Miss World Contest in 1970.
Jo Robinson
Revolutionary seeds for the Liberation of Women were first planted for me at that life-changing Ruskin Conference where empowered by sharing our oppression, our anger grew at the limitations on women imposed by this sexist society, so we targeted Miss World…….
My winning formula is - to question authority, using art, theatre, humour, posters, graffiti and feminism
I was portrayed mischievously by Jessica Buckley in the film Misbehaviour. Now learning to make my rebel constructive, taming my inner drama queen but inspired by the growing global networks of feminism to continue the struggle that we must never give up!
Sarah Wilson
Sarah grew up in Sri Lanka, hitched around Europe, studied art in England and Paris, has had exhibitions in London and France. Discovered politics in Algeria 1967, returned to Paris in early 1968, went to Cuba that summer. Back in London joined Poster Workshop, worked intensively there for a year or two.
In the summer of 1969 set up Poster Workshops in Free Belfast and Free Derry, in the north of Ireland.
Later moved to France and for a time was part of a group supporting Algerian women who had to flee Islamic fundamentalists there.
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