A Mic of Her Own: Stations, Collectives, and Women's Access to Radio

Abstract

As the 1960s came to a close, increasing social and political pressure was brought to bear on broadcasters to augment women's participation on the air. The pressure, from changes in civil rights laws and the Second Wave of the women's liberation movement, took several different forms; three models o f women's access to the airwaves emerged in the ensuing decade. Women using the models to gain access to the air met with varying degrees of success. This article will discuss the ways in which women broadcast, particularly on the radio during this period, and why two of the three models o f access faded as the Second Wave lost energy at the end of the 1970s.