A new global observance celebrating outsider lesbian culture is launching this month. The first International Rebel Dykes Day will take place on 29 January, honoring the legacy of Rebel Dykes—a trans-inclusive, sex-positive lesbian activist community that emerged in 1980s London. The movement traces its roots to the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp and became known for its anti-capitalist politics, gender non-conforming style, and direct action, including protests against Section 28.
Rebel Dykes were also closely tied to the legendary fetish club night Chain Reaction, which opened on 29 January 1987. Rebel Dykes documentary producer Siobhan Fahey says, “It’s very hard to pin it down…It’s words like punks, activists, and outsiders… the dyke within the straight world.” Fahey said the day is meant for those who feel excluded by mainstream ideas of queerness. “A lot of us just don’t fit in, we don’t fit into that queer stereotype…So I would call on women who feel like outsiders in whatever way they want to be to have this day.” Since the documentary’s release, exhibitions, archive events, and club nights have emerged across the UK.
