Lesbian separatism and identity development: making space for themselves

ABSTRACT

This study documents the stories of lesbians separatism during the 1970s-80s in Western Australia, exploring aspects of identity, community, safe space, culture, and connection. Although there is increasing literature on the subject in Australia, the phenomenon of lesbian separatism has received little attention, particularly the Western Australian context. Therefore, sharing these marginalized women’s stories addresses this gap in the literature, provides a sense of identity in the past, and acknowledges the contributions lesbians had on society and culture. The research involved a narrative study of six informants who self-identify as lesbian, collected in multiple interviews. The purpose was to understand informant’s subjective experiences, perspectives and meaning about identity, separatist community, and lesbian culture. This study explores a unique aspect of Australian history and demonstrates the significant contributions lesbian separatists made to LGBT acceptance and women’s history and culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Lesbian
• separatism
• identity
• community
• safe space
• feminism
• Australia
• culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declaration of Ethics Approval

This study was approved by The Human Research Ethics Committee at Edith Cowan University, with the approval number 2021-02605-VANAURICH.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amber van Aurich

Amber van Aurich has an Honours degree from Edith Cowan University, and is a researcher with an interest in history and politics. Her focus includes lesbian studies, feminist history, identity development, and social movements. Currently, she works at the University of Western Australia in a research project on the historical and social significance of co-operatives and mutual enterprises.

Kay Hearn

Kay Hearn lectures in Historical and Political Studies and has a broad range of research interests that includes Ghost Brides in China, memes and how they are used to slip past Chinese censors. Her research investigates the intersection between politics and popular culture in a broad range of contexts. Currently, she is researching the use of Southern Gothic Tropes in the construction of the Blues Man in American popular culture and how that has been integrated into tourism in Tennessee and Mississippi.