Happy Women's History Month - Poster of the Week
- politicalgraphics
- Mar 13
- 3 min read
In 1908, 15,000 women marched in New York City, demanding shorter working hours, better pay, laws against child labor and laws for the right of women to vote. In 1909, the Socialist Party of America organized the first "National Women's Day" in New York on February 28th. At the second International Conference of Working Women in 1910, Clara Zetkin, a German labor leader, proposed countries around the world celebrate an International Women's Day to promote suffragists' demands.
The following year, International Women's Day was held for the first time on March 19th in several European countries. On March 8th 1917, Russian women went on strike for four days for "Bread and Peace," resulting in the Czar's abdication and the provisional government granting women the right to vote. By the early 1920s, March 8th had become the official day of celebration.
For almost 80 years, International Women's Day remained predominantly a communist- and socialist-associated holiday and was largely forgotten in the United States. It re-emerged in the U.S. with the development of the Women's Liberation Movement (1960s-1980s). The United Nations formally recognized March 8th in 1975.
Today, attacks on women's rights are escalating from the United States to Iran, and all over the world. Against this nightmarish background, CSPG continues to celebrate movements for justice in women’s history and in world history. The following posters are from all over the world, and honor women’s labor, rejoice in women’s love, demand health care, and advocate for justice and dignity for those most vulnerable. We must continue to fight for our rights and for the rights of all marginalized and oppressed peoples.
We will NOT go back.
Left: Nieder mit den abtreibungs-paragraphen / Down with the Abortion Law, Käthe Kollwitz, Offset reproduction of lithograph original, 1924, Germany
Right: Machismo Es Fascismo, Juan Carlos; Young Lords Party; Michael Abramson, Silkscreen, 1970, New York, NY, 27801
Left: Stop Forced Sterilization, People's Press, Silkscreen, Circa 1974, San Francisco, CA, 9708
Right: We Celebrate Women's Struggles, Susan Shapiro; Inkworks; Gonna Rise Again Graphics, Silkscreen, Circa 1975, Oakland, CA, 12239
Left: Celebrate Black Womanhood, Sarita L. Johnson; Inkworks Press, Offset, Circa 1979, Berkeley, CA, 47379
Right: Kazi Za Mwanamke Zisizo Na Ujira, Artist Unknown, Offset, Circa 1980s, Arusha, Tanzania
Translation: Women's Work Without Wages. By the time night arrives I'm exhausted. Still, I am told I am not working. Is none of this work unless it's at the office?
Left: Lesbians Are Coming Out In Full Force!, See Red Women's Workshop, Silkscreen, Circa 1980, London, UK, 7808
Right: I Am The Way I Am, Prime Time, Offset, Circa late 1970s-1980s, New York, NY, 43715
Left: General Union of Palestinian Women, Jihad Mansour (Marc Rudin); General Union of Palestinian Women; Liberation Graphics; World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women, Offset, 1986, Denmark, 4062
Right: Aboriginal Women are Watching You!, Sally Morgan, Offset, 1988, Australia, 21947
Left: No More Shackles!, Micah Bazant; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Digital Print, 2013, Berkeley, CA, 41071
Right: Stop the Violence Against Trans Women and GNC Folx of Color, Foward Together; Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project; Edxie Betts, Digital Print, 2016, Los Angeles, CA, 57130
Left: Honoring Our MMIW, Jackie Fawn; Seeding Sovereignty, Digital Print, Circa 2017, New York, USA, 88242
Right: Women, Life, Freedom, Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP); San Francisco Poster Syndicate; Art Hazelwood, Silkscreen, 2022, San Francisco, CA, 101853
References