A history of women's liberation written from archives and remembrances is now a flourishing sub-industry in academic feminism (Curthoys 1992; Burgmann 1993; Ryan 1992), including the ‘first fulllength book in Australia on this topic’ (Kaplan 1996:xi). The present text focuses on the impact of women's liberation on so-called ordinary women, but a brief history of Australian feminist activism, achievements and defeats will contextualise the discussion of women's experiences of growing up; of giving meaning to their bodies as sexualised; of education, work, motherhood and marriage.

Nineteenth-Century Feminist Struggles

Had one of the earlier generation of feminists – those who were active in the decades around the turn of the century – looked back over the last forty years from the perspective of about 1920, she too might have written a letter both celebratory and anxious to the next generation. She would have noted that forty years ago women did not have the right to vote or stand for parliament, a right still denied many women in other nations.