'Here and wet for you!': Sadomasochist lesbian feminism in Britain, 1980-2000
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: History and Cultures
Abstract
This project considers the relationship between kink and feminism in 1980s and 1990s Britain. Focusing on self-identified sadomasochist (SM) lesbian feminists, it engages with the lived experience of SM lesbian women and the political conflicts around these intersecting identities. In doing so, the project nuances historiographical discussions of feminist and lesbian politics and experience. As a social and political history, it is underpinned by a commitment to providing a platform for the voices of marginalised queer women. The title, 'Here and wet for you!' centres this desire.
The project addresses a gap in the interdisciplinary scholarship on feminist politics and the 'sex wars' in Britain, which debated the place of pornography and SM within feminism (Healey, 1996; Green, 1997). An anti-SM rhetoric, which presents SM as fetishising heteropatriarchal power dynamics (Rees, 2010; Jeffreys, 2018) is historiographically dominant. The reality is more complicated - criticism of SM risks a restriction of female sexuality, but its support ignores external influence on sexual preferences. This is the core issue my project will explore.
The project focuses on communities of SM lesbian women, including the Rebel Dykes, a politically active group of punk lesbians in 1980s London, and parallel groups in Brighton and Manchester. Building on a new momentum in 'kink history' (Cofield, Mechen, Worley, 2022; Sigel, 2012; Pine, 2013), it provides the first systematic study of SM lesbian feminists in contemporary Britain. Beyond this, the project's focus on 1980s and 1990s Britain underpins a critical assessment of the tension between politics and activism that considers both the reactionary sexual politics of the Conservative government and the limits of New Labour's reform agenda (Herman, 2007; Rodgerson and Semple, 1990). This will challenge established historical understandings of the sexual politics and sexual subcultures of contemporary Britain.
The project addresses three research questions:
How did sadomasochism influence SM lesbians' feminism?
How did the political landscape of Britain affect the emergence of this particular feminism and identity?
Why did queer people find a community within SM spaces, and vice versa?
To answer these questions, the research will take place over two stages. First: archival research, examining print material to explore the more political and theoretical aspects of SM lesbian feminism. The Bishopsgate Institute, with its holdings of the Rebel Dykes and Leather and Fetish archive, and the Lesbian Archive will be of the greatest use in this, given their holdings of lesbian zines and artwork.
Second: a series of interviews with self-identified SM lesbian feminists, with the aim of around 20 participants. These will be found by advertising on social media and through historical networks such as the Women's History Network and the OHS LGBTQ+ special interest group. Oral history's rich methodological potential to explore the development of subjectivity (Portelli, 1981; Roper, 2005) will underpin my exploration of the social position of SM lesbian feminism. I plan to undertake interviews at meaningful locations such as Greenham Common, as the concept of place is of great importance to queer identity (Cook and Oram, 2022; Cresswell, 2015).
The project addresses a gap in the interdisciplinary scholarship on feminist politics and the 'sex wars' in Britain, which debated the place of pornography and SM within feminism (Healey, 1996; Green, 1997). An anti-SM rhetoric, which presents SM as fetishising heteropatriarchal power dynamics (Rees, 2010; Jeffreys, 2018) is historiographically dominant. The reality is more complicated - criticism of SM risks a restriction of female sexuality, but its support ignores external influence on sexual preferences. This is the core issue my project will explore.
The project focuses on communities of SM lesbian women, including the Rebel Dykes, a politically active group of punk lesbians in 1980s London, and parallel groups in Brighton and Manchester. Building on a new momentum in 'kink history' (Cofield, Mechen, Worley, 2022; Sigel, 2012; Pine, 2013), it provides the first systematic study of SM lesbian feminists in contemporary Britain. Beyond this, the project's focus on 1980s and 1990s Britain underpins a critical assessment of the tension between politics and activism that considers both the reactionary sexual politics of the Conservative government and the limits of New Labour's reform agenda (Herman, 2007; Rodgerson and Semple, 1990). This will challenge established historical understandings of the sexual politics and sexual subcultures of contemporary Britain.
The project addresses three research questions:
How did sadomasochism influence SM lesbians' feminism?
How did the political landscape of Britain affect the emergence of this particular feminism and identity?
Why did queer people find a community within SM spaces, and vice versa?
To answer these questions, the research will take place over two stages. First: archival research, examining print material to explore the more political and theoretical aspects of SM lesbian feminism. The Bishopsgate Institute, with its holdings of the Rebel Dykes and Leather and Fetish archive, and the Lesbian Archive will be of the greatest use in this, given their holdings of lesbian zines and artwork.
Second: a series of interviews with self-identified SM lesbian feminists, with the aim of around 20 participants. These will be found by advertising on social media and through historical networks such as the Women's History Network and the OHS LGBTQ+ special interest group. Oral history's rich methodological potential to explore the development of subjectivity (Portelli, 1981; Roper, 2005) will underpin my exploration of the social position of SM lesbian feminism. I plan to undertake interviews at meaningful locations such as Greenham Common, as the concept of place is of great importance to queer identity (Cook and Oram, 2022; Cresswell, 2015).
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Matt Houlbrook (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Bethan Downs (Student) |