Spare Rib magazine caused a furore when it first hit the stands in 1972 (price 17 1/2p). In fact, it didn't hit a great many stands at all because lots of retailers refused to carry it, seeing it as subservise and dangerous because of its shocking second-wave feminist emphasis on exploring women as individuals instead of predetermined roles as wives and mothers. The first issue of 20,000 sold out anyway and the magazine continued to maintain that circulation for many years. Its reach was vaster than that because it was passed around so much.
Now the
complete run of 239 issues from 1972 to 1993 of the magazine has been digitized and uploaded to the British Library's excellent Journal Archives. It's a real slice of history and makes for some deeply satisfying browsing. When I saw the
first issue has features about the Women's Suffrage movement, romance novels, women in the 14th and 15th centuries, breasts, and the backstory of the geometric Altair designs that starred in my favorite coloring books, I knew it was love.
Every Issue of UK Feminist Magazine "Spare Rib" Online
Linear Mode
