Dear Sisters – For Women Only by Yee Poon

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An insight into the Revolutionary & Radical Feminist Newsletter from 1978-1990, assessing its visual aesthetics, language and original content.

We are

Studio

Our brief is entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Exhibition is a Printed Publicationâ&#x20AC;?. As a collective, we adopted the role of a curator and investigated Feminism using a combination of primary and secondary research methods; the majority of our research came from the National Feminist Archive South, located at the University of Bristol.

Dissecting the Rev/Rad covers demonstrates how influential it became. It ran for 11 years, featuring contributions from various women who turned to Feminism. It evolved from a newsletter with a hand-rendered title and logo to a publication with half-tone photographs and a distinct typeface.

This publication demonstrates how guerilla-style illustrations, the branding of feminists and the aggressive tone of the radical feminists made them revolutionary. They helped influence a generation of women and liberated them from male violence as a social control.

The influence of radical feminism on contemporary society is immeasurable.

March, 1979. An introduction to the second issue of Rev/Rad; provocative statements appear throughout, establishing it as a document designed to inform, inspire and educate.

A mission statement identifying men and patriarchy as the sole cause of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oppression, an inherent trait within Radical Feminism. The statement focuses primarily on womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to sexual freedom and the opposition of sexual exploitation, such as pornography and sadomasochism.

Title Development

The development of the Rev/Rad title suggests an air of professionalism as the newsletter developed over the years, from stencils and handrendered gothic type to a computer based, serif typeface. In the final edition, the title had a contemporary feel for the time period, using a sans-serif typeface and appearing mounted onto a white strip with a black and white polka-dot background; an aesthetic reminiscent of the punk era, which helped to convey the aggression of the feminists while maintaining the mature themes they tried to convey.

Logo Development

Throughout the issues there was also the inclusion of an axe logo that had four separate iterations. The initial axe was a crude illustration, lacking any subtlety and demonstrating the brutality in which the Radicals intended to communicate their message. However, the final axe was homage to feminists, including the female symbol (the symbol of Venus a.k.a. Phosphoros) as the body, with the blades of the axe resting on the cross upon which the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the symbol sits.

Illustrations

Although the logos of Rev/Rad developed over the years, the illustrations stayed very much the same. Some had a rather crude appearance, but this helped retain the rough and ready action style of the feminists and established some consistency over the years as supporters of the cause came and went; it also helped the audience to identify regular contributors.

Guest Rant

This was a regular feature in the newsletter appearing in every issue, allowing the audience to vent in a safe way, away from male eyes, as stated: “The space where each issue a different person gets the chance to rant on whatever they want!” Included is a rant from Al Garthwaite; to complement this, a contemporary rant from Oxfordbased feminist Ellie Doward. Currently at University, more of Ellie’s work can be found on the blog: belle-jar.com

Sue (Hull)

20 Mar 14 Dear Sue (Hull) 1. Feminism in all forms adheres to the notion that men somehow oppress women; however, different variants of feminism take this belief to varying degrees. For example, Marxist Feminists believe women are oppressed and men are elevated in the hierarchy of society due to the oppressive nature of capitalism; Liberal Feminists believe that women are not “naturally weaker” than men but are of equal importance and should demonstrate their autonomy through their unique traits and individualism. Radical Feminists hold the more extreme opinion and belief that all men should be abolished due to their aggressiveness and oppressive nature. Radicals sought to reveal that patriarchy was influential in all aspects of life and not just in the political and economic world. Women were oppressed sexually, socially and personally. 2. As the editions of Rev/Rad continued, the price slowly increased. It’s not known whether this was due to the success of the newsletter and it consequent expansion, whether contributors to the publication were eventually paid for their efforts, or whether the Sheffield Women’s Co-op (responsible for the printing) had their prices increased. Regardless, the price increased from 20p in 1979 to £1.50 in issue 20 in 1990.

3. Rev/Rad was a very straight-talking newsletter; the introduction to the second issue explicitly stated it was the readers’ fault it took so long because no one had sent in anything worthy of printing: “We know it’s taken a long time… it’s always going to be slow in coming if women are slow at sending stuff in”. This seemed to be good for the audience, and set an appropriate tone for the newsletter, making sure the audience were active feminists who engaged in the subject matter beyond what they read in an issue. 4. Radical Feminism: a branch of feminism from the second wave (60s/70s). Radicals believed femininity was imposed on them by men to make them feel weaker and keep them under the control of the opposite sex. Radicals support the idea that men should be abolished; they suggest women should adopt political lesbianism to demonstrate they are autonomous and don’t need men in their personal, sexual or social life. Revolutionary Feminism: a notion within feminism and not a branch of feminism, nor a political ideology. Revolutionary feminism is, by definition, feminism that is revolutionary enough to causes a paradigm shift. Love Studio H (Bristol)

The March

19th March 2014. A demonstration by feminists and Studio H through Broadmead, Bristol raising awareness of the Radical Feminists. A banner was presented by the feminists and supporters of the cause; flyers were handed out to the public advertising the publication and the studio.

Photography by Jonathan Faulkner

Front Covers

The following pages feature samples of front covers from Rev/Rad. As a design studio, we selected the covers we found to be the most visually pleasing; we based this on the use of colour, the detail of the illustrations, the typography and the overall message to be taken from the piece. We responded to these with a hand-rendered quote taken from the text on the original covers, which are available as postcards so that the message of feminism may continue to be spread in a more subtle and personal way. Upon request A3 posters of our responses are available. For further information visit: forwomenonly.tumblr.com