I was watching Rebel Dykes, a documentary part animated film on Amazon BFI the other day. I really enjoyed it and I improved my knowledge of lesbian 80's culture by about 99%. Directed by Harri with Siân A. Williams, i
I loved the way it was put together with all the home footage, warts and all. It gave it a veracity and immediacy that helped fix the period and the way in which lesbians expressed themselves at that particular moment in time. The Rebel Dykes made me think of Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in The Wild One. I think the word lesbian sounds a little formal, even twee perhaps - like finding a Marks and Spencer label on the back of an unfashionable item of clothing, somehow safe and middle of the road. Dykes i suppose has connotations of abuse, mainly from men, but Rebel Dykes comes across as wild and fierce - an Amazonian image if you like? If we must have labels then that's just my opinion of their aesthetics, so i hope no one takes them to heart, my not being a woman or a dyke.
It was interesting to see the differing perspectives from various factions on how they wanted to be perceived back then, and how the influences of both feminism and punk came in to play. I remember the Thatcher clamp down on gay culture and doing an anti Clause 28 cartoon for City Life magazine myself at that time.
It helped me understand a history that i didn't really know about, which is always a good thing and how people have struggled for the rights they have won and still have to fight for - it was inspirational, entertaining and had a banging soundtrack to boot. Watch it and educate yourself.
