What began when Siobhan Fahey looked up her old friends from 80s London, grew into a vital document of a tough community at the forefront of the gay rights struggle
“Rebel dykes” is a new term for an old mood. It was coined retrospectively to describe a sprawling group of acquaintances who partied and protested their way through London in the 1980s. And it is now the title of a raucous feature-length documentary about them.
The film begins at the Greenham Common peace camp in the late 70s, takes in a lesbian S&M club night which became a flashpoint for “the raging sex wars” between radical feminists and “leather dykes”, tells of gay pubs and clubs, punk bands and friendship groups, anti-section 28 protesters who abseiled into the House of Lords, censorship, discrimination and, ultimately, liberation. It is a fabulously joyful and celebratory testament to community and resilience during difficult times.
