Spare Rib

Spare Rib

Spare Rib cover, December 1972; featuring John Cleese on the cover
Editor	Collective from late 1973
Categories	Feminist Magazine
Founded	1972; 52 years ago (1972)
Final issue	1993
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Website	http://www.bl.uk/spare-rib (archive)

Spare Rib was a second-wave feminist magazine, founded in 1972 in the United Kingdom, that emerged from the counterculture of the late 1960s as a consequence of meetings involving, among others, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe. Spare Rib is now recognised as having shaped debates about feminism in the UK, and as such it was digitised by the British Library in 2015.^[1] The magazine contained new writing and creative contributions that challenged stereotypes and supported collective solutions that related to feminist issues. It was published between 1972 and 1993.^[2] The title derives from the Biblical reference to Eve, the first woman, created from Adam's rib.

The first issue of Spare Rib was published in London in June 1972.^[3][4] It was distributed by Seymour Press to big chains including W. H. Smith & Son and Menzies — although the former refused to stock issue 13, due to the use of an expletive on the issue's back cover. Selling at first around 20,000 copies a month, it was circulated more widely through women's groups and networks. From 1976, Spare Rib was distributed by Publications Distribution Cooperative to a network of radical and alternative bookshops.

The magazine's purpose, as described in its editorial, was to investigate and present alternatives to the traditional gendered roles of virgin, wife, or mother.^[5]

The name Spare Rib started as a joke referring to biblical Eve being fashioned out of Adam's rib, implying that a woman had no independence from the beginning of time.^[6]

The Spare Rib manifesto stated:^[7]

The concept of Women's Liberation is widely misunderstood, feared and ridiculed. Many women remain isolated and unhappy. We want to publish Spare RIB to try to change this. We believe that women's liberation is of vital importance to women now and, intrinsically, to the future of our society. Spare RIB will reach out to all women, cutting across material, economic and class barriers, to approach them as individuals in their own right.

Early articles were linked closely with left-leaning political theories of the time, especially anti-capitalism and the exploitation of women as consumers through fashion.^{[citation needed]}

As the women's movement evolved during the 1970s, the magazine became a forum for debate among members of the different streams that emerged within the movement, such as socialist feminism, radical feminism, lesbian feminism, liberal feminism, and black feminism.^[8] Spare Rib included contributions from well-known international feminist writers, activists, and theorists, as well as stories about ordinary women in their own words. Subjects included the "liberating orgasm", "kitchen sink racism", anorexia, and female genital mutilation. The magazine reflected debates about how best to tackle issues such as sexuality and racism.^[9]

Due to falling subscriptions and low advertising revenue, Spare Rib ceased publication in 1993.^[3][10]

Spare Rib became a collective by the end of 1973.^[11][12] The collective editorial policy was to "collectively decide on articles that they publish, and work closely with the contributors. Accept articles from men only when there is no other resource available."^[3] Drew Howie was a consultant through 1990-1993.

According to Marsha Rowe, one of the original magazine designers, the "look" of Spare Rib was born out of necessity: it had to look like a women's magazine, yet with contents that did not reflect conformist stereotyping of women. Spare Rib covers were often controversial.^[6] The design had to be both stable and flexible to allow for future change while retaining the basic identity. Integral to every decision was cost.^[6]

Finding non-sexist advertising in accordance with the values of the magazine was another challenge.

Scholar Laurel Foster wrote in 2022 for the 50th anniversary of Spare Rib's first issue: "The self-expression and persuasive writing of the pioneering magazine have their legacy in feminist media today. [...] Because of its standing in feminist history, Spare Rib has become a touchstone for later feminist magazines."^[13] In their 2017 book Re-reading Spare Rib, Angela Smith and Sheila Quaid wrote that Spare Rib played a key role in the development of second-wave feminist thought and its spread into the collective consciousness.^[14]

It was reported by The Guardian in April 2013 that the magazine was due to be relaunched, with journalist Charlotte Raven at the helm.^[15] It was subsequently announced that while a magazine and website were to be launched, they would have a different name.^[16][17]

In May 2015, the British Library put its complete archive of Spare Rib online.^[9] The project was led by Polly Russell, the curator behind an oral history of the women's liberation movement.^[18] The archive was presented with new views on the subject matter and themes, curated by expert commentators. The British Library website describes the value of Spare Rib for current readers and researchers:^[1]

Spare Rib was the largest feminist circulating magazine of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) in Britain of the 1970s and 80s. It remains one of the movement's most visible achievements. The trajectory of Spare Rib charted the rise and demise of the Women's Liberation Movement and as a consequence is of interest to feminist historians, academics and activists and to those studying social movements and media history.

In February 2019, the British Library announced a possible suspension of access to the archive in the event of a no-deal Brexit, due to problems relating to copyright.^[19][20] It was announced in December 2020 that access would be withdrawn at the end of the transition period.^[21]

• Spare Rib collection at the LSE Women's Library
• History of Spare Rib from the Bristol University History Department
• Interview with Marsha Rowe. 31 January 2008. Retrieved June 2008.
• O'Sullivan, Sue. "Feminists and Flourbombs". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008.
• Spare Rib by Hazel K. Bell. The National Housewives Register's Newsletter no. 19, Autumn 1975, pp. 10–11. Retrieved June 2008.
• Smith, Angela; Quaid, Sheila (2017). "Introduction". In Smith, Angela (ed.). Re-reading Spare Rib. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1–21. ISBN 978-3-319-49309-1.
• Steiner, Linda; Chambers, Deborah; Fleming, Carole (2004). "Women's alternative media in broadcasting and the Internet". In Steiner, Linda; Chambers, Deborah; Fleming, Carole (eds.). Women and journalism. London New York: Routledge. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-203-50066-8.

• Fell, Alison (1979). Hard Feelings: Fiction and Poetry from Spare Rib. London: Women's Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7043-3838-8.
• Rowe, Marsha (1982). Spare Rib Reader. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England New York, NY, U.S.A: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-005250-3.
• Boycott, Rosie (2009) [1984]. A Nice Girl Like Me. London: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-84739-470-5.
• O'Sullivan, Sue (1987). Women's Health: A Spare Rib Reader. London New York: Pandora Press. ISBN 978-0-86358-218-9.

• British Library archive
• The Spare Rib Manifesto at the British Library archive
• Full, free-to-access, online archive hosted by the JISC Journal Archive
• The Reunion. Marsha Rowe, Rosie Boycott, Angela Phillips, Marion Fudger and Anna Raeburn with Sue MacGregor. BBC Radio 4, September 2013.
• Photo of Marsha Rowe and Rosie Boycott at the magazine's offices, 19 June 1972.