Typical girls… Rebel Dykes (2021), BFI, In cinemas now

Rebel Dykes were outlaws, this was way before there were queer activists or Riot Grrrls, we invented it!

 

They say if you remember the Eighties then you weren’t really there, and yet, whilst I obviously wasn’t a part of this particular scene, I well remember Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, the Thatcher Government’s declaration of war on “the promotion” of homosexuality. We wouldn’t have the freedom to push for further freedoms now if this battle had been lost and this film is a welcome reminder of not only where we’ve been but also the simple joys of being able to be yourself; surely the thing that binds us all together?

 

Directed by Harri Shanahan and Siân A. Williams, produced by Riot Productions’ and original Rebel Dyke, Siobhan Fahey, Rebel Dykes tells the tale of post-punk feminism through a group of lesbian and non-binary friends who initially coalesced around the protests at Greenham Common against the nuclear weapon carrying cruise missiles stationed at the US air force base. There were different factions at the Woman’s Peace Camp with each of the airbase’s entrances having a different mix from the “separatist” feminists at the Green Gate, to musicians at Orange and the younger set at Blue, the nearest to a pub. A rainbow has many colours after all.

 

The woman all report on life in the seventies being more isolated and, in the provinces and smaller towns, their being nowhere to go. Even in London, the lesbian scene was not as advanced as that for gay men who had already plenty of places to meet up. The Greenham graduates began to change all that when they migrated to the capital to live in squats in Brixton and elsewhere.

 

It’s sobering to hear them relate the risks of being an out lesbian at the time with “queer bashing” an ever-present danger and one saying how it was easier to live a nocturnal life so as to avoid the “straights”. The film uses contemporary video footage mixed with animation which conveys their indefatigability even as some of the memories are clearly painful.

 

One of the problems was a lack of places to go and they play their part in setting up new club nights such as the Sistermatic at Brixton's Women's Centre, run by promoter Yvonne Taylor, then with DJs like The Sleaze Sisters playing in pubs like The Bell in Kings Cross. Then there are post-punk groups such as Amy and the Angels, The Petticoats, The Poison Girls, Sluts from Outer Space, Sister George and Mouth Almighty. The latter featured the very recognisable Debbie Smith who later played bass for shoegaze pioneers Curve, Britpop darlings Echobelly and many more. Here she’s affable and proud of her contribution pointing out the footholds the activism of the 80s gained.

 

All of these groups are featured on the soundtrack and it would be good to see a compilation!

 

There’s a sense of humour binding most of the talking heads and their recollections, stand up and musician Fisch, recalls robbing beer from the squaddies’ bar at Greenham as well as being a member of the Dykes on Bikes motorcycle gang, The Black Widows. But there’s no doubt they had to endure a lot of pushback not just from straight society but also other feminists.

 

A lot of the controversy came with the establishment of London's first lesbian fetish club, Chain Reactions in Vauxhall.  The women have fond memories of this place with its sexual freedom, “so bad it was good” cabaret and the mud, oil and spaghetti hoops wrestling bouts. Founded by Seija who ran a similar club, Extasy, in Finland, she was aiming to mix sex with art and in any order and the club became the basis for one big “happy shaggy family” as one called Jane remembers with a glint in her eye.

 

The club attracted the disapproval of feminist groups who thought the sadomasochism was too influenced by male and female role playing with fascistic elements to boot and the “Lesbian sex police” were also on hand to object about a photographic record of the club in Della Grace’s Love Bites and other works. Factionalism is probably a healthy sign of a broad church and what the Dykes did was disruptive as much as it was allowing them self-expression.

The Black Widows, Gay Bykers on Activism

Around the same period was the Poll Tax so we were pretty much doing a riot a week…

 

What unified the cause and the broader LBGQT+ community was the Tory Government and Section 28. Scrap the Section was a rallying cry all could get behind and their activism was epitomised by a group of women abseiling down onto the floor of the House of Lords and, famously, disrupting the BBC Six O’clock News… for which Aunty sadly did not release any footage for the film. No matter Fahey arranged a re-enactment of Nicholas Witchell’s finest hour… at least Sue Lawley kept her cool.

 

All of this helped found a movement that has continued to this day with the Rebel Dykes playing their part in an activism that demanded extrovert solutions to repressive problems. The documentary’s closing segment gives a satisfying round up of where they all are now and to a woman, they are a proud of their past and their ongoing contribution to freedom of expression.

 

Rebel Dykes is now on release across the UK and Ireland cinemas as well as digitally.

 

You can see it at BFI Southbank, HOME Manchester, Tyneside Cinema Newcastle, QFT Belfast, Glasgow Film Theatre, Duke of Yorks Picturehouse Brighton, Ritzy Brixton, Cambridge Picturehouse, Picturehouse Central, Finsbury Park Picturehouse, Hackney Picturehouse, FACT Liverpool, West Norwood Picturehouse, Broadway Nottingham, ArtHouse Crouch End, Chapter Cardiff & Watershed Bristol – with more bookings to come.

 

Full details are on the BFI website whilst there’s also a more at the Bohemia Euphoria site where you can stream the film, and the Rebel Dykes History Project.