Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.87.12
Object Name
Poster
Title
The problem that has no name
Date
1985
Description
The Poster Collective was a collective formed in 1971 at the Slade School of Art,  a group formed to initially produce posters in response to the miners strike and on the wars in both Vietnam and Ireland. It was formed on the basis of developing a coherent visual style, which addressed the political issues of the time. This included the armed struggles against colonialism in Africa, the struggle of women for equal rights and the continuing struggle against racism. The collective was active in the 70's and 80's, producing posters on a wide range of issues, including for educational purposes. The group was not-for-profit and used a variety of hand-printing techniques to create their posters. Between Future and Past
A set of posters looking at the ideological and economic structures underlying the unequal position of women in society at different junctures in history from feudalism to present. It also shows points at which women have fought to change existing social relations. This is the twelth poster in the series and reads "THE PROBLEM THAT HAS NO NAME" on a white and orange background alongside an illustration of a woman smiling next to multiple TV screens showing news programmes, films, and television shows. Smaller text reads: "For women, consumerism meant a world defined by her place in the home and the administration of consumption. At the same time women were bombarded with images which presented them with an ever increasing set of contradictory roles: the obedient housewife, the loving mother, the glamorous star, and the sex symbol. 'The problem that has no name' was a concept used by Betty Friedan in 'The Feminine Mystique' (1963) to describe the contradictory feelings that woman held
about roles which were assigned to them in the world's most affluent society. It was a problem that each suburban housewife struggled with alone in confinement; the feeling that their lives were solely shaped by their roles as wives and mothers. Women began to share and discuss this problem together through what came to be known as consciousness-raising groups. They were a central factor to the Women's Liberation Movement and of a language to describe the unequal sexual roles in society."
