{"id":10362,"date":"2012-03-20T09:17:18","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T09:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=10362"},"modified":"2012-03-20T09:17:18","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T09:17:18","slug":"the-womens-library-fairness-and-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2012\/03\/20\/the-womens-library-fairness-and-resistance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Women’s Library: Fairness and Resistance"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a special treat for Women\u2019s History Month<\/a>, the London Metropolitan University Board of Governors has decided to \u201cseek new homes<\/a>\u201d for their world-class trade union and women\u2019s history collections.<\/p>\n

Kicking ass since 1926<\/h3>\n

The Women\u2019s Library<\/a> collection was created in 1926 and has been housed in its purpose-built home in Aldgate for a decade. It\u2019s in constant use as a research facility and in recent years it has also branched out to become a vibrant force in the local community and beyond.<\/p>\n

Their exhibitions, events and collaborations with artists are accessible, relevant and often hard-hitting. Their 2007 exhibition about prostitution<\/a> was one of the most thought-provoking, balanced and insightful I\u2019ve ever been to (and I spend a *lot* of time in museums) and was firmly rooted in partnership with local charities working with women on East End streets.<\/p>\n

Another example is their immensely popular \u2018Alternative Jack the Ripper Walk\u2019 and (In) Memoriam<\/a> installation, which included putting up memorial plaques to each of the Ripper\u2019s victims. The work presented an articulate challenge to the misogynist undertones of much of the murder tourism which brings visitors to their neighbourhood in Whitechapel while raising awareness of the violence against women that never seems to go out of fashion.<\/p>\n

Missing statues<\/h3>\n
\"Group<\/a>

Group of Afghan women, 1927. Not many of images of Middle Eastern flappers about, are there?<\/p><\/div>\n

As you can probably sense, when I heard that London Met Uni is giving this vital centre the boot I was pretty angry. But I wasn\u2019t shocked. With educational institutions\u2019 budgets dribbling away and competition for research funding becoming ever more cut-throat, naturally specialist social history collections are in the firing line.<\/p>\n

Social history is already viewed by some as fluffy girly history to the hard, throbbing Real Man\u2019s history of wars, leaders and money. And the social history of marginalised groups? The fluffiest, wimpiest, most irrelevant history of all! Fetch me a beer and a tiger to wrestle.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written before<\/a> about why discovering and recognising the history of marginalised groups is vital. It\u2019s not just about fairness, it\u2019s about resistance. It\u2019s having the weapons to fight back when you\u2019re told \u2018oh that\u2019s just the way things are\u2019, or \u2018but it\u2019s tradition\u2019. It\u2019s about stopping people telling whatever story they want about your life.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a way of keeping yourself going, whether by looking back and seeing how far we\u2019ve come, or by drawing inspiration from the people who came before you. That\u2019s why it matters whether or not we build all those missing statues<\/a>. Or it should matter to anyone who\u2019s ever been on the sharp end of cultural hegemony<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Look back, look forward<\/h3>\n

According to For Books\u2019 Sake<\/a> there will be a campaign against the decision to move the Women\u2019s Library and the TUC Library. For more information your best bet is probably to follow the Women\u2019s Library on Twitter<\/a> or Facebook<\/a> and watch out for updates.<\/p>\n

There are other archives of women\u2019s history which are available to the public in buildings and online, I\u2019ve listed some below (please add more in the comments!) But that doesn\u2019t mean we can be complacent. Please visit them, use them, value them.<\/p>\n

And while fully recognising the subtle, changeable and intricate nature of identity I’d say whoever you are, learn your history, whatever that means to you. And as an act of solidarity educate yourself about the people who’ve been written out of the textbooks.<\/p>\n

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