'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).

该项目探讨 20 世纪 80 年代和 90 年代英国的怪癖与女权主义之间的关系。它聚焦于自我认同的施虐受虐狂 (SM) 女同性恋女权主义者，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，该项目细致入微地对女权主义和女同性恋政治和经验进行了史学讨论。作为一部社会和政治史，它的基础是致力于为边缘化酷儿女性的声音提供一个平台。标题是“这里为你而湿！”该项目解决了关于女权主义政治和英国“性战争”的跨学科学术空白，其中争论了色情和 SM 在女权主义中的地位（Healey，1996；Green，1997）。一种反 SM 的言论，将 SM 描述为迷恋异父权制权力动态（Rees，2010；Jeffreys，2018）在史学上占据主导地位。现实更为复杂——对SM的批评可能会限制女性的性行为，但它的支持却忽视了外部对性偏好的影响。这是我的项目将探讨的核心问题。该项目重点关注 SM 女同性恋女性社区，包括 Rebel Dykes，这是 20 世纪 80 年代伦敦的一个活跃于政治的朋克女同性恋团体，以及布莱顿和曼彻斯特的平行团体。它以“怪癖历史”的新势头为基础（Cofield、Mechen、Worley，2022；Sigel，2012；Pine，2013），首次对当代英国的 SM 女同性恋女权主义者进行了系统研究。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行动主义之间紧张关系的批判性评估，该评估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 和 Semple， 1990）。这将挑战当代英国对性政治和性亚文化的既定历史理解。该项目解决了三个研究问题：施虐受虐如何影响SM女同性恋的女权主义？英国的政治格局如何影响这种特殊女权主义和身份的出现？为什么酷儿人群会在 SM 空间中找到社区，反之亦然？为了回答这些问题，研究将分两个阶段进行。第一：档案研究，检查印刷材料，以探索 SM 女同性恋女权主义更多的政治和理论方面。 Bishopsgate Institute 拥有 Rebel Dykes 和 Leather and Fetish 档案馆，而 Lesbian Archive 则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：对自称 SM 的一系列采访女同性恋女权主义者，目标大约有 20 名参与者。这些可以通过社交媒体上的广告和历史网络（例如女性历史网络和 OHS LGBTQ+ 特殊兴趣小组）找到。口述历史在探索主体性发展方面具有丰富的方法论潜力（Portelli，1981；Roper，2005）将支撑我对 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，因为地点的概念对于酷儿身份非常重要（Cook 和 Oram，2022；Cresswell，2015）。