A ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) cell for flat panel displays with volume stabilized bistable states is described. Volume stabilization is achieved by the FLC/polymer gel dispersion which is prepared by polymerizing a FLC/polymer precursor solution in a suitably aligned FLC display cell. The volume stabilized LC cell gives mechanical stability to FLC displays with internal memory and provides for high contrast shuttering while keeping all other excellent properties of the surface stabilized FLC displays (SSFLCD).