Author Archives: lipstick socialist

About lipstick socialist

I am an activist and writer. My interests include women, class, culture and history. From an Irish in Britain background I am a republican and socialist. All my life I have been involved in community and trade union politics and I believe it is only through grass roots politics that we will get a better society. This is reflected in my writing, in my book Northern ReSisters Conversations with Radical Women and my involvement in the Mary Quaile Club. I am a member of the Manchester and Salford National Union of Journalists.If you want to contact me please use my gmail which is lipsticksocialist636

My review of “second world second sex” Kristen Ghodsee

Posted on April 20, 2019

    In this new history book Kristen rescues an important episode in the history of women’s activism at the United Nations – the contribution of women from the state socialist countries in Eastern Europe (“the Second World” as they … Continue reading →

Posted in Betty Tebbs, book review, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, Northern ReSisters Conversations with Radical Women, peace campaigns, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

My review of “Trico A Victory to Remember” by Sally Groves and Vernon Merritt

Posted on April 2, 2019

  Why is it some strikes, many of them defeats for the labour movement, are constantly being replayed  ie Miners Strike, Grunwicks and Ford Dagenham women but successful strikes such as Trico have been forgotten. One of the big problems … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

My review of “I Have No Regrets: Diaries, 1955-1963” Brigitte Reimann

Posted on March 25, 2019

    Brigitte Reimann was an East German writer and  an avid chronicler of her own  life through her diaries. In this new book we follow her as she becomes a successful writer, but at a turbulent time for her … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, education, novels, political women, Socialism, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

My review of “High Wages” Dorothy Whipple

Posted on February 20, 2019

  High Wages is set in 1912 and describes the lives of many young women of that era who had  limited educational and career options. Jane Carter, the heroine of this novel, is a Northern young woman who has to … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, feminism, labour history, novels, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

My review of “You Can’t Kill the Spirit!” Houghton Main Pit Camp, South Yorkshire;the untold story of the women who set up camp to stop pit closures

Posted on February 4, 2019

  This is the inspiring  story of a group of working class women who decided to fight to stop further pit closures seven years after the momentous Miner’s Strike of 1984-5. They set up seven women’s pit camps outside the … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

My review of “Our Woman in Havana Reporting Castro’s Cuba” Sarah Rainsford

Posted on January 30, 2019

  Sarah Rainsford was the BBC’s correspondent in Cuba from 2011-14. Known as “Our woman in Havana”  it  feels  like  a throwback to a time when the UK was a world power that needed  to send out foreign correspondents like … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, human rights, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

My interview with Sheila Rowbotham about her groundbreaking 1969 article “Women: the struggle for Freedom”

Posted on January 14, 2019

 On 10 January 1969 in an article  called   “Women; the struggle for Freedom”, published  in the Marxist magazine Black Dwarf, socialist feminist Sheila Rowbotham  poured out her anger and resentment about the inequality and injustice of women’s lives:   “A much … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments