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“ Written in clear and trenchant prose with a decent dose of the author’s great sense of irony, Sheila Jeffreys’ Trigger Warning is an autobiography of intellectual honesty and political courage. Reading this book provides a whole education in lesbian feminism through the eyes and life of one of our leading scholar-activists.” — Janice G. Raymond, author of A Passion for Friends, Women as Wombs and Not a Choice, Not a Job “ From the sleepy Maltese village of her childhood to the wild beauty of Australian Christmases among the sand dunes, via the ferment of the Women’s Liberation Movement and back again, Sheila Jeffreys takes you on an exhilarating journey through a lesbian feminist life where the personal has been truly political. One of the world’s most important and influential radical feminist thinkers, Jeffreys now reveals herself to be a gifted, thoroughly engaging and sometimes quite hilarious storyteller. No trigger warning from me, rather the ‘Oyez, oyez!’ of the town crier – women, read this book and re-imagine what is possible!” — Julia Long, author of Anti-Porn: The Resurgence of Anti- Pornography Feminism and lesbian feminist scholar and activist “ With this engaging, authentic autobiography, Sheila Jeffreys takes us on an extraordinary ride through the ups and downs, the successes and frustrations, of her life as a revolutionary feminist. Have no doubt that her voice will resonate through feminist history for decades to come.” — Betty McLellan, author of Beyond PsychOppression, Unspeakable and Ann Hannah “ Sheila Jeffreys’ generosity in sharing entertaining personal anecdotes and insights was always a hallmark of her teaching at The University of Melbourne and is fondly remembered by many students. It is wonderful to see so many of these stories reproduced in print. A powerful reminder, not only that the personal is political, but that the political is personal.” — Meagan Tyler, co-editor of Freedom Fallacy and contributor to Big Porn Inc and Prostitution Narratives TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 11 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm “ Trigger Warning with its inherent double entendre of having one’s radical feminism treated as a threat while the reality of women’s life stories reveals its power to restore women to their own lives is what Sheila Jeffreys gives us in her own life story. No better use can be found of the personal is political.” — Kathleen Barry, author of Female Sexual Slavery, The Prostitution of Sexuality and Unmaking War, Remaking Men “S heila Jeffreys’ Trigger Warning impresses with the connections between radical feminism, lesbian activism and the many facets of men’s violence against women. Her courageous position on topics relevant to feminist and lesbian politics elevates her to a role model for opposing liberalism and harms minimisation which are destroying feminism.” — Anita Heiliger, author of Sexuelle Gewalt: Männliche Sozialisation und potentielle Täterschaft, founder of KOFRA (Kommunikationszentrum für Frauen) in Munich, and organiser of the first Abolitionist Congress in Germany (2014) “ Trigger Warning: My Lesbian Feminist Life is a compelling account of Sheila Jeffreys’ heroic service in the revolutionary feminist movement. This is the story of a life powered by ideas, which means a life filled with adversity, exhilaration, and the most profound setbacks. The book is a treasure because it accurately describes the evolution of feminist thought in her time. Future generations can rely upon it. It is bound to inspire them. Brava, Sheila, Brava!” — Phyllis Chesler, author of Women and Madness, Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman and A Politically Incorrect Feminist “ This is a wonderful account of activism over the last 50 or more years that puts the struggles for women’s liberation into perspective and provides information to many younger women of the background of current arguments about sex versus so-called gender.” — Linda Bellos OBE, socialist, lesbian separatist, campaigner for the rights of women and black political activist TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 22 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm n o utt H e n ai El dit: e cr o ot h P Sheila Jeffreys is a radical feminist activist who has worked mainly against male violence and for lesbian feminism. She joined her first Women’s Liberation Movement group in the UK in 1973 and became a lesbian in 1977. In 1991, she moved to Australia to teach at the University of Melbourne, and retired back to the UK in 2015. She is the author of ten books on issues such as the history of sexuality, lesbian feminism, prostitution, gay men’s politics, beauty practices, the threat of patriarchal religion to women’s rights, and the politics of transgenderism. Her most recent book is: The Lesbian Revolution: Lesbian Feminism in the UK 1970–1990 (2018). TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 33 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 44 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm TRIGGER WARNING My Lesbian Feminist Life SHEILA JEFFREYS TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 55 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm First published by Spinifex Press, 2020 Spinifex Press Pty Ltd PO Box 5270, North Geelong, VIC 3215, Australia PO Box 105, Mission Beach, QLD 4852, Australia [email protected] www.spinifexpress.com.au Copyright © Sheila Jeffreys The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of the book. Copying for educational purposes Information in this book may be reproduced in whole or part for study or training purposes, subject to acknowledgement of the source and providing no commercial usage or sale of material occurs. Where copies of part or whole of the book are made under part VB of the Copyright Act, the law requires that prescribed procedures be followed. For information contact the Copyright Agency Limited. Edited by Renate Klein and Pauline Hopkins Cover design by Deb Snibson, MAPG Typesetting by Helen Christie, Blue Wren Books Typeset in Minion Pro Printed by McPherson’s Printing Group A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia ISBN: 9781925950205 (paperback) ISBN: 9781925950212 (ebook: epub) TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 66 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm This book is dedicated to Ann Rowett whose love and companionship have sustained me through more than three decades of my life in the UK and Australia. TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 77 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 88 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1 | Origins 7 Chapter 2 | Finding Feminism: The 1970s 39 Chapter 3 | Choosing to Be a Lesbian 67 Chapter 4 | Changing Sexuality 95 Chapter 5 | The End of a Dream 125 Chapter 6 | Australia 153 Chapter 7 | The Doldrums 185 Chapter 8 | Back to the Struggle 217 Acknowledgements 233 Other Books by Sheila Jeffreys 235 ix TTWW__TTeexxtt__77pppp..iinndddd 99 99//66//2200 99::0077 aamm