Sylvia Pankhurst: The Life of a Feminist Revolutionary

Celebrating the great life of a great political figure

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There are many feminist figures throughout history who, through their actions and their ideas, went on to become icons of the movement. People such as Mary Wolstonecraft, Angela Davis, Rosa Luxemburg, and countless others. Feminist history is, if nothing else, rich with a wide variety of figures who’ve all made strong contributions to the feminist movement and the ideas of feminism.

One of the most noteworthy feminist figures of the last century or so is no doubt Sylvia Pankhurst, a prominent figure in the women’s suffrage movement and later a revolutionary communist/feminist figure whose actions led her to become a true icon of feminism and radical politics. Many people are no doubt going to be familiar with her mother, Emmeline Pankhurst and her role as one of the leading campaigners of the women’s suffrage movement in Britain, but Sylvia herself also played a pivotal role here as well as in broader socialist politics in Britain during this time.

Sylvia Pankhurst: Sexual Politics and Political Activism is a book that covers the life of Pankhurst as well as explaining her politics, especially how her later Marxism went on to have an impact on her feminist thought. It’s a surprisingly short book, coming in at…