Women's Liberation Red

Image of the venus symbol with a fist in the center in red on a white button.

This button depicts the symbol of the women's liberation movement and was created by Robin Morgan for the 1969 Miss America protest. The fist represents power and rebellion and is enclosed in the women's symbol. The button was originally made in "menstrual red" like this one.

The first Miss America protest occurred in 1968 and drew a lot of media attention. Women unfurled banners inside the Convention Hall, performed skits (including crowning a live sheep Miss America) and sang songs outside the entrance. They also threw symbols of femininity into a large trash can, but never actually burned any bras, despite the persistent rumors that they had. The 1969 protest was much tamer. Protesters could not get into the event or near the entrance, but they did perform skits behind the police lines and talked to women who came to watch.