The Red Stocking Movement () was a Danish

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

movement which was established in 1970 and was active until the mid-1980s. Inspired by the

Redstockings Redstockings, also known as Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement, is a radical feminist nonprofit that was founded in January 1969 in New York City, whose goal is "To Defend and Advance the Women's Liberation Agenda". The group's name ...

founded in 1969 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, it brought together left-wing

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

s who fought for the same rights as men in terms of equal pay but it also addressed treatment of women in the workplace as well as in the family.

Background

In the late 1960, a group of young women activists from the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS () is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The as ...

supported by cultural and university organizations such as Kanonklubben and Kældergruppen, were inspired by the New York Redstockings to set up Denmark's own Red Stocking Movement. Among the most active were Ninon Schoss, Karen Syberg and

Vibeke Vasbo Vibeke Vasbo (born 9 July 1944) is a Danish writer and women's rights and LGBT rights activist. In the early 1970s, she participated in the Redstocking movement and in the Danish Lesbian Movement. She embarked on a literary career in 1976 with '' ...

. In connection with the weekly parade of the Danish Life Guards in central

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

on 8 April 1970, a group of women intervened, discarding their clothes and joining women from the

Tuborg brewery Tuborg is a Danish brewing company founded in 1873 on a harbour in Hellerup, to the north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 1970 it has been part of the Carlsberg Group. The brewery's flagship, the Tuborg pilsner, was brewed for the first time in 18 ...

who were demonstrating for equal pay. Initially there was considerable confusion, even in the press, about what the women stood for but slowly they explained their position in articles such as '' En historie om hvordan rødstrømperne blev rødstrømper'' (The Story of how Red Stockings became Red Stockings). Initial emphasis was on demonstrations calling for equal pay and free abortion, but they were also active on the political front, opposing Denmark's membership of the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Development

While the initial impetus was on urban membership in Copenhagen,

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

and

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, by the mid-1970s, the movement had spread to towns throughout Denmark. There was no defined hierarchical structure, each grouping organizing its own activities. Festivities and celebrations of all kinds were arranged, including summer camps on the island of

Femø Femø is a Denmark, Danish island north of Lolland. The island covers an area of 11.38 km2. Femø had 147 inhabitants in 2009, and 112 inhabitants 2023. Women's camp Every year since 1971 women have met and spent their holiday together in the ...

and the establishment of the Women's Museum in Aarhus. A number of disputes evolved over the years, mainly in connection with organization but increasingly with

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

members who broke away and formed their own

Lesbian Movement A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosex ...

. By the 1980s, interest in the movement began to wane. In 1985, the Aarhus Redstockings formally closed their organization. Despite a relatively short period of activity, the Danish Red Stockings contributed to legislation on free abortion (1973), equal pay (1976) and improvements in maternity leave (1980). The movement was also successful in encouraging universities to undertake research on women, now known as gender research, and the establishment of

KVINFO The Danish Center for Research on Women and Gender (KVINFO) is a Danish information center about women's issues. It primarily aims to provide the general public with information about the results of women's studies and gender research underta ...

, the Danish Center for Research on Women and Gender.

Influential members

Active members of the organization included

Ulla Dahlerup Ulla Dahlerup (born 1942) is a Danish journalist, writer and women's rights activist. She was one of the most prominent members of the Danish Red Stocking Movement in the early 1970s, an episode she used as a basis for her 1979 novel ''Søstrene' ...

(born 1942),

Drude Dahlerup Drude Dahlerup (born 3 February 1945 in Aarhus, Denmark) is a Danish-Swedish professor of Political Science at Stockholm University. Her main research area is gender and politics. She is an international consultant on the empowerment of women in ...

(born 1945),

Suzanne Giese Suzanne Giese (1946–2012) was a Danish writer and women's rights activist. She was one of the prominent members of the Danish Red Stocking Movement in the early 1970s. In 1973, together with her husband , she established the Tiderne Skifter publ ...

(1946–2012),

Bente Hansen Bente Hansen (4 March 1940April 2022) was a Danish writer, editor and women's rights activist who was a prominent supporter of the Danish Red Stocking Movement from 1970. She published a number of books on socialism and the role of women and was ...

(1940-2022),

Karen Jespersen Karen Moustgaard Jespersen (born 17 January 1947 in Copenhagen) is a Danish journalist and former politician representing the party Venstre. Early life Born in Copenhagen, she's the daughter of labourer Knud Jespersen and delicatessen owner Anna ...

(born 1947), Karen Syberg (born 1945) and

(born 1944).

References

{{Authority control Organizations established in 1970 Organizations disestablished in 1985 Feminism in Denmark History of women in Denmark Women's organizations based in Denmark Political movements in Denmark