The Lesbian Revolution

"A scholarly and invigorating 'insider's' history of lesbian feminism in the UK and a bold, incisive and lucid analysis which captures the zeitgeist of 1970s and 1980s lesbian feminism." - Celia Kitzinger, Author of The Social Construction of Lesbianism "This is an important book about lesbian feminism from the 1970s through to the 1990s. It is a history that needs to be told, and Sheila Jeffreys, with her characteristic passion, documents the rich culture of lesbian feminism (the literature, music, theatre), as well as the central role of lesbian feminists as activists against violence against women and the heteropatriarchy." - Marianne Hester OBE FAcSS, Professor of Gender, Violence and International Policy at the University of Bristol, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gender-Based Violence

Sheila Jeffreys is a Professorial Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, Australia. In 1973, in the United Kingdom, she became involved in the Womens Liberation Movement and became a lesbian in 1977. She moved to Australia in 1991, where she became a Professor of Feminist Politics at the University of Melbourne and has authored numerous books on the history and politics of sexuality, the global sex industry, lesbian feminism, harmful beauty practices, religion and womens rights and the politics of transgenderism. She moved back to the UK in 2015.

Introduction 1. The Origins of Lesbian Feminism 2. Lesbian Culture 3. The Lesbian Perspective 4. Separatism 5. Political Lesbianism and Heterosexuality 6. Sadomasochism: The Challenge to the Politics of Sexual Equality 7. The Gender Backlash: Butch/Femme Roleplaying 8. Identity Politics and the Destruction of Lesbian Feminism: The CIA couldnt have done it better (Rahila of Southall Black Sisters, 1986). 9. The Demise of Lesbian Feminism . Postscript