ABSTRACT
The birth of the Women’s Liberation Movement was accompanied from the beginning by the development of a women’s culture. This was a revolutionary creation in its own right and formed the necessary foundation for activism. The women’s culture was a glorious and unprecedented outpouring of women’s creativity. It was dominated by lesbian creative talents in music, poetry, theatre and political ideas. The politics of lesbian feminism was spread through the culture, as the songs, plays and poetry echoed the theory and helped to create it. The women-only venues of women’s centres, bars, discos, theatre and music nights were crucibles in which lesbians could form political and love relationships and develop the strength and self-belief that being in the company of remarkable women can engender. This chapter will look at the richness of that lesbian feminist culture and argue that the political movement of lesbian feminism was unthinkable without the culture in which it was nurtured and supported.
