This film is part of Free

Burn Your Bra!

The Women’s Liberation movement’s burn your bra campaign hits Truro.

News 1968 2 mins

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Overview

TV reporter Andy Price interviews women on the streets of Truro about whether they would figuratively burn the bra. A concern is raised as to whether the undergarment is under serious threat from feminists and women alike or if it will survive to enjoy an uplifting future. Bra burning became a metaphor for the Women’s Liberation Movement, which sprang up across the USA in the late 1960s and signified freedom from male oppression spawning a renewed drive for gender equality.

Bra burning actually never happened. A group of 400 feminists led a protest at Miss America 1969 which was held in September 1968 in Atlantic City, New Jersey and attempted to burn symbols of female oppression in a freedom bin mimicking conscripts burning their draft cards in protest over the Vietnam war. Journalist Lindsy Van Gelder drew the comparison between the two protests and hit the headlines the world over with the title grabbing Bra Burners And Miss America.

Genres
NewsCurrent affairs
Released
1968
Country
United Kingdom
Location
Truro
Language
English

Subjects

Civil Rights Feminism Underwear 1970s