'Here and wet for you!': Sadomasochist lesbian feminism in Britain, 1980-2000

本项目考察了英国上世纪八九十年代扭结与女权主义的关系。聚焦于自我认同的施虐受虐者（SM）女同性恋女权主义者，它涉及SM女同性恋女性的生活经历以及围绕这些交叉身份的政治冲突。在此过程中，该项目对女权主义者和女同性恋者的政治和经历进行了细致入微的历史讨论。作为一部社会和政治史，它的基础是致力于为被边缘化的酷儿女性提供一个发声的平台。标题是“为你而来！”’是这种欲望的中心。该项目解决了英国关于女权主义政治和“性战争”的跨学科学术研究的空白，该研究讨论了色情和SM在女权主义中的地位（Healey, 1996; Green, 1997）。一种反男性至上主义的修辞，将男性至上主义描述为异性父权制的权力动态（Rees, 2010; Jeffreys, 2018），在历史上占主导地位。现实情况要复杂得多——批评SM有限制女性性行为的风险，但对它的支持忽视了对性偏好的外部影响。这是我项目要探讨的核心问题。该项目主要关注SM女同性恋群体，包括Rebel Dykes，一个在20世纪80年代活跃于伦敦的朋克女同性恋政治团体，以及布莱顿和曼彻斯特的类似团体。建立在“扭结史”的新势头基础上（Cofield, Mechen, Worley, 2022; Sigel, 2012; Pine, 2013），它提供了当代英国SM女同性恋女权主义者的第一个系统研究。除此之外，该项目对20世纪80年代和90年代英国的关注，支持了对政治与激进主义之间紧张关系的批判性评估，该评估既考虑了保守党政府的反动性政治，也考虑了新工党改革议程的局限性（Herman, 2007； Rodgerson和Semple， 1990）。这将挑战对当代英国性政治和性亚文化的既定历史理解。该项目涉及三个研究问题：施虐受虐是如何影响SM女同性恋的女权主义的？英国的政治环境是如何影响这种特殊的女权主义和身份的出现的？为什么酷儿会在SM空间中找到一个社区，反之亦然？为了回答这些问题，研究将分两个阶段进行。首先：档案研究，检查印刷材料，以探索SM女同性恋女权主义的更多政治和理论方面。毕普斯盖特学院，拥有反叛堤坝，皮革和恋物癖档案，以及女同性恋档案将在这方面发挥最大的作用，因为他们拥有女同性恋杂志和艺术品。第二：对自我认同为SM的女同性恋女权主义者的一系列采访，目标是约20名参与者。这些信息可以通过社交媒体上的广告和历史网络（如女性历史网络和OHS LGBTQ+特殊兴趣小组）找到。口述历史在探索主体性发展方面的丰富方法论潜力（Portelli, 1981; Roper, 2005）将支持我对SM女同性恋女权主义社会地位的探索。我计划在Greenham Common等有意义的地点进行采访，因为地点的概念对酷儿身份认同非常重要（Cook and Oram, 2022; Cresswell, 2015）。

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).