Kassandra Hammel, M.A.

Women's Bodies, Health and the Female Sexual Revolution in Britain and West Germany, c. 1968-1989 (working title)

This research project looks at the role of British and West German women's movements in negotiating new concepts of sexuality, bodies and health between 1968 and 1989.

In both countries, feminists closely linked the issue of sexuality with the question of female self-determination and demonstrated, for example in the context of abortion debates, that women's bodies were the object of political debates. As a reaction to mainly male interpretations, activists claimed to question previous knowledge about female bodies and sexuality, to collect new information and to circulate it. For this purpose, autonomous women's groups in both countries created opportunities to exchange information -based on body experiences supposedly common to all women -and to learn about different approaches to women's health and female sexuality through information on the female body and self-help practices. The women's movements in West Germany and Great Britain were strongly inspired by US-American models. Nevertheless, the respective political frameworks and national discourses produced different conflicts and room for manoeuvre. The comparative view thus promises more precise insights into factors and variations in the transformation of ideas about sexuality and health. At the same time, the transnational networking of female actors and their increasing demand for intersectional approaches in the 1980s will also be a key focus.

By concentrating on the production and transformation mechanisms of knowledge, the projectbreaks with the master narrative "sexual revolution" and instead highlights the different interpretive struggles around sexuality and the body within the women's movements. These interpretations competed with each other; but they are also part of macrosocial negotiation processes. In this way, the project not only opens up a new view on women's movements themselves, but also develops an innovative reading of the decades after "1968" from a body-historical standpoint.

Magazines of the Western European Women's Movements: Database and Digital Introduction

Project Management: Prof. Dr. Sonja Levsen, Staff: Kassandra Hammel (M.A.), Annika Stehle (M.A.)

Since the 1970s, second-wave feminist movements have produced a large number of magazines that have served as a means of networking, exchanging information and discussing issues that were considered 'taboo' or, in the view of those involved, neglected by the mainstream press. They often grew out of regional or local organisations, many circulated nationally, some crossed borders. These publications gave a voice to the movements' positions and demands in the democratic public sphere; they were also taken up by other media or politicians.

However, research into these magazines has been somewhat hesitant. While there have been some studies in recent years, they have often remained confined within national boundaries or focused on individual publications. Comparative studies are scarce, and comprehensive transnational works are lacking.

Addressing this research gap, ourproject aims to highlight the diversity of Western European women's movement magazines. It's little known that in West Germany alone, during the 1970s and 1980s, more than 200 of thesemagazines were founded, with similar situations in other countries. To achieve this, a database will be created gathering information/metadata on women's movement magazines from all Western European democracies published between 1968 and 1989, which will be made publicly accessible. This focus on Western Europe is intended as a first step in overcoming national boundaries, with collaborations and expansions into other geographical areas envisioned.

In a second phase, a website will be developed which, usingexpert contributions, will present the emergence of feminist press in Western European democracies since the 1970s, combining national overviews with transnational thematic perspectives.

exercise: "Frauen gemeinsam sind stark" - Quellen zur Geschichte feministischer Bewegungen in Baden-Württemberg, ca. 1970-1990.