Rebel Dykes chronicles the lesbian movement in Britain since the 1980s. Usefully they had archive material in the form of home made video footage.

It starts with the Greenham Common peace camp of the early 1980s. The tabloid press were quick to sneer at the time that some of the women were lesbians who had abandoned their husband and kids.

It soon becomes clear from the interviews that some of the women went there to meet other lesbians. Protesting against nuclear weapons was not high on the agenda for them. It was about discovering themselves and meeting like minded women.

However it did empower these women with activist qualities. Badly needed in an era where homophobia was rife. There was the spectre of Aids. Later the Thatcher government brought in Section 28.

Now the lesbian movement had something to unite and fight against.

The documentary was not just about activism. I was surprised that a city like London had no clubs for lesbians even in the early 1980s. Maybe a few places that were underground but slowly there were meeting places for other women emerging. Clubs that were a safe pace for them.

That led to an explosion of queer fashion and a lesbian post punk scene. Even mainstream pop stars such as Sinead O Connor co-opted their style such as the shaven head.

The documentary makes clear that the women were not an homogenous group. Factions emerged over sexual preferences, some women explored the S&M scene. Others were aghast with the associated Nazi imagery and being dominated. An issue for some black women with its links to slavery.

It also explores the rise of queer magazines and literature. Having to skirt around the pornography laws. Others imported sex toys aimed at women from San Francisco. The toys available for women at the time needed to be hacked with a blade.

Directed by Harri Shanahan and Sian A Williams. Rebel Dykes is an important documentary charting the history of the lesbian movement in Britain.

I was watching Rebel Dykes, a documentary part animated film on Amazon BFI the other day. I really enjoyed it and I improved my knowledge of lesbian 80's culture by about 99%. Directed by Harri with Siân A. Williams, i I loved the way it was put together with all the home footage, warts and all. It gave it a veracity and immediacy that helped fix the period and the way in which lesbians expressed themselves at that particular moment in time. The Rebel Dykes made me think of Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in The Wild One. I think the word lesbian sounds a little formal, even twee perhaps - like finding a Marks and Spencer label on the back of an unfashionable item of clothing, somehow safe and middle of the road. Dykes i suppose has connotations of abuse, mainly from men, but Rebel Dykes comes across as wild and fierce - an Amazonian image if you like? If we must have labels then that's just my opinion of their aesthetics, so i hope no one takes them to heart, my not being a woman or a dyke.

It was interesting to see the differing perspectives from various factions on how they wanted to be perceived back then, and how the influences of both feminism and punk came in to play. I remember the Thatcher clamp down on gay culture and doing an anti Clause 28 cartoon for City Life magazine myself at that time.

It helped me understand a history that i didn't really know about, which is always a good thing and how people have struggled for the rights they have won and still have to fight for - it was inspirational, entertaining and had a banging soundtrack to boot. Watch it and educate yourself.

I loved this film. Made me wish I was born 10 years earlier or at least made it to London instead of Manchester in 1990. There is a great use of some gritty footage and some fun funky animation. It's such an important story to tell and it is told very well, in the style of the Rebel Dykes themselves.

Punk roots, fierce feminism, S&M versus political anti-pornography feminists, Greenham Common, raw music, squats, lesbian activism and Clause 28. So many memories of coming out and the sexual politics of the time. It's very heartening for the film to address racism and transphobia and to feature black and trans dykes within the scene.

Thanks for making the film and to Rebel Dykes for paving the way.