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

“在这里，为你而湿！”：1980-2000 年英国的施虐受虐女同性恋女权主义

• 批准号: 2875419
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2875419
• 关键词: Here; wet; Sadomasochist; lesbian; feminism

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).

该项目考虑了1980年代和1990年代英国的扭结与女权主义之间的关系。专注于自我识别的施虐受虐狂（SM）女同性恋女权主义者，它与SM女同性恋妇女的生活经历以及这些相交身份的政治冲突相关。在此过程中，该项目细微差别于女权主义和女同性恋政治和经验的史学讨论。作为一个社会和政治历史，它的基础是为边缘化酷儿妇女的声音提供平台的承诺。标题“在这里为您湿！”该项目以这一愿望为中心。该项目解决了英国女权主义政治和“性战争”跨学科奖学金的差距，该奖学金辩论了色情和SM在女权主义中的地位（Healey，1996; Green，1997）。一种反SM修辞，将SM表现为恋物癖的异性恋动力动力学（Rees，2010; Jeffreys，2018）在史上具有史主义。现实更为复杂 - 对SM的批评可能会限制女性性行为，但其支持忽略了对性偏好的外部影响。这是我的项目将探索的核心问题。该项目着重于SM女同性恋妇女的社区，包括Rebel Dykes，包括1980年代伦敦的朋克女同性恋者的政治活跃群体，以及布莱顿和曼彻斯特的平行团体。它以“纠结历史”的新势头为基础（Cofield，Mechen，Worley，2022; Sigel，2012; Pine，2013年），提供了对当代英国SM女同性女权主义者的首次系统研究。除此之外，该项目的重点是1980年代和1990年代的英国对政治和行动主义之间的紧张局势进行了批判性评估，该评估既考虑了保守党政府的反动性政治和新工党改革议程的局限性（Herman，2007; Rodgerson; Rodgerson; Rodgerson and Semple，1990年）。这将挑战对当代英国的性政治和性亚文化的历史理解。该项目解决了三个研究问题：虐待狂会影响SM Lesbians的女性主义？英国的政治景观如何影响这种特殊的女性主义和身份的出现？为什么在Smpace和Vice Versa中找到了这两个问题？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政治和理论方面。鉴于他们对女同性恋杂志和艺术品的持有，凭借其叛军戴克斯，皮革和恋物癖档案馆的持有，以及女同性恋档案馆的使用最大。这些将通过社交媒体上的广告和通过历史网络（例如女性历史网络和OHS LGBTQ+特殊兴趣小组）找到。口述历史探索主观性发展的丰富方法论潜力（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。我计划在格林汉姆·普通（Greenham Common）等有意义的地点进行采访，因为地点的概念对于酷儿身份非常重要（Cook and Oram，2022； Cresswell，Cresswell，2015）。