Tag Archives: politics

“Piety, Sobriety and Variety”: The first 3 female MPs to arrive at Westminster, by Dr Jacqui Turner

Much has been written about Constance Markievicz, the first woman elected to parliament at the general election 1918 and Nancy Astor, the first woman to take her seat in parliament a year later via a carefully controlled by-election. However, much … Continue reading

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A new platform: female MPs and the quest for equal citizenship, by Abbie Tibbott

This Women’s History Month, it is important to remember some of the pioneers that stood on a very crucial platform, often against all odds. The collection of women that were successfully elected to UK Parliament in the 1920s represented women’s … Continue reading

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Challenging the ‘Cistem’: The Importance of Diversity in Trans Representation, by Amy Austin

The policing of gender is nothing new, but in recent years the escalation in attacks against transgender and non-binary communities has seen fierce battles over the definition of ‘man’ and – more pointedly – ‘woman’ and who can be accepted … Continue reading

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A Garden Party I would like to have attended… Cliveden 18th July 1928. #OTD from the Nancy Astor Archive

by Rachel Newton, UROP student This summer, I have a research internship working with Dr Jacqui Turner on a University Research Opportunity Programme (UROP) within the History Department and in collaboration with Special Collections here at the University of Reading.  … Continue reading

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Votes for Women: What are we celebrating?

by Melanie Khuddro This week marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act receiving Royal Assent; the week when women were first legally recognised to have voting rights in the UK. Countless flags, banners and badges adorned in … Continue reading

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