About the project
The project explores how the struggle against sexual violence against women became a core issue of the women’s liberation movements in the mid-1970s. The American radical feminist Robin Morgan's catchy slogan "Pornography is the theory, and rape the practice" was included in the slogan repertoire of women’s movements in several countries, but with different expressions and different emphasis.
In France, the movement focused in combating rape, while in Norway the fight had its clearest expression in the struggle against pornography, which activists considered to represent and encourage sexual violence against women. The response from the outside world, however, was remarkably similar; on one hand the movements succeeded in raising rape, pornography and violence against women as public policy issues that resulted in legislative reforms. On the other hand, the movements were accused of being puritan and “man hating”.
By comparing the struggle against sexual violence against women in two different countries, France and Norway, the project seeks to answer the follow research questions:
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How were rape and pornography, which initially had been considered as non-political phenomena, reframed as political issues?
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What were the different interpretations, or framings, of rape and pornography within the women's liberation movement and outside, and how did they change during the 1970s?
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How did the different political ideologies in the movements influence political strategies, forms of action and alliances?
Financing
University of Oslo. Period: 2008-2012.