Lesbian feminist politics in Sydney: fighting over meaning

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to understand what was involved in the disagreements during the 1970s over the feminist status of lesbianism. The 'meaning' was the meaning of lesbianism; the fights revolved around the personal/political dichotomy, whether lesbianism was a matter of individual desire, or whether it was a political choice. It discusses two 1974 issues of the Australian feminist journal, Refractory Girl, as a case study illustrating the debate.