Stickers of all kinds are a common sight on the streets of London (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 12/03/15).
Gender-related issues and sexism have been hot topics of debate recently, thanks to campaigns such as #MeToo, and Time’s Up. #MeToo was a social media campaign to demonstrate the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, with women sharing their own experiences to show just how common it is. The Times Up movement calls for an end to sexual harassment, assault and inequality in the film industry, developing in response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Many women wore back at the 2018 BAFTA awards to show their support. The campaign has also had an effect in the music industry, with attendees at the 2018 Brit awards showing their support by carrying white roses on the red carpet. This is a recent upsurge in an ongoing series of struggles to achieve gender equality that is reflected in London’s protest stickers.
To see where I found these stickers in the city, check out the Turbulent London Map.
This sticker connects feminism with anti-fascism. They two flags is the most common symbol of anti-fascism, and the phrasing of the sticker is also often associated with anti-fascist stickers; “Goodnight White Pride” is a particularly common phrase (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Albany Road, 02/04/15).
Class War is an anarchist group that organises direct action against a society that it sees as deeply unequal. The Women’s Death Brigade is a branch of Class War with a feminist focus (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Euston Road, 05/09/15).
Intersectionality is the idea that different aspects of a person (race, gender, sexuality etc.) do not exist separately from each other. Therefore, in order to solve issues such as sexism or racism, we need to combat all of them simultaneously, not just one. This sticker links sexism and homophobia, as well as representing Snow White in a more violent pose than we’re used to (Photo: Hannah Awcock, New Cross Road, 20/03/16).
One of Sisters Uncut’s best known tactics is crashing red carpets-they did it at the premier of the 2015 film Suffragette, and the 2018 BAFTA awards. The colours that Sisters Uncut use, white, green, and purple, echo those of the suffragette group the Women’s Social and Political Union (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Torrington Place, 20/10/15).
This is arguably more of a poster than a sticker, but I liked it too much to leave it out. George Osborne was the Chancellor of the Exchequer between 2010 and 2016 (Photo: Hannah Awcock, 20/03/16 New Cross Road).
Sexual consent has been another big issue for feminist campaigns in recent years. I Heart Consent is an educational consent campaign ran by the National Union of Students and Sexpression UK which focuses on universities and colleges (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Charing Cross Road, 23/03/17).
This photo is a fantastic illustration of how the placement of a sticker can contribute to its meaning and impact (Photo: Hannah Awcock, King’s College London, 31/05/15).
Unfortunately, feminism does not always present a united front. There is an ongoing debate over whether transgender women count as ‘real’ women, with some feminists arguing that transgender women cannot truly understand what it is like to deal with the prejudices faced by women. More generally, some people question whether or not is even possible to be genuinely transgender. This sticker is a reaction to such debates (Photo: Hannah Awcock, Victoria Station, 10/03/15)
University Teacher in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. Interested in the cultural, historical, and political geographies of resistance.
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