Editing Underground Press Syndicate (section)

=== The UPS and the women's liberation movement ===
As the underground press movement evolved, [[second-wave feminism|women's liberation]], initially a non-issue in the male-dominated underground press, became an increasing focus. The UPS passed the following resolutions at its 1969 conference:

{{quote|
# That male supremacy and chauvinism be eliminated from the contents of the underground papers. For example, papers should stop accepting commercial advertising that uses women's bodies to sell records and other products, and advertisements for sex, since the use of sex as a commodity specially oppresses women in this country. Also, women's bodies should not be exploited in the papers for the purpose of increasing circulation.
# That papers make a particular effort to publish material on women's oppression and liberation with the entire contents of the paper.
# That women have a full role in all the functions of the staffs of underground papers.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Underground Press in America|first=Robert J. |last=Glessing |publisher=Indiana University Press|date=1970|page=65}}</ref>}}

These resolutions were a harbinger of staff rebellions by women that split several papers, including ''[[Rat (newspaper)|Rat]]'', where the feminist faction seized control of the paper for several issues. A few papers, already weakened by staff burnout, poor finances, and other factors, died in the wake of these schisms, while others lost revenue and circulation by barring sexual content and advertisements, which in any event were increasingly being spun off into tabloid sex papers like ''[[Screw (magazine)|Screw]]''.{{cn|date=December 2022}}