“WOMEN CLEARLY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD — BECAUSE WE HAVE. THERE’S PROOF.”
— SUE JACKSON
BOLD BOOKS & WORKS BY WOMEN IN FILM
Getting Equal, Marilyn Lake
1999
Getting Equal is the first full-length history of the movements - and their feisty, ebullient, determined leaders - who fought for women's political and economic rights, sexual and drinking rights, the right to control their bodies and their destinies.
Dangerous Ideas, Susan Magarey
2004
Dangerous Ideas explores sex and love, politics and performance, joy and anguish in a collection of essays focused on the history and politics of the Women’s Liberation Movement and one of its offshoots, Women’s Studies, in Australia and around the world.
Zelda, Zelda D’Aprano/Spinifex Press
1995
Biography of Zelda D'Aprano, a working-class woman who was at the forefront of the Women's Liberation Movement in Australia.
Ducks on the Pond, Anne Summers
1999
Autobiography of Anne Summers covering the period 1945-76. An unflinching personal story of a woman who challenged the world she was given.
Different Lives, Editor: Jocelynne Scutt
1987
Scutt, Jocelynne (June 1987). Different Lives. Viking Press. ISBN 0-14-006899-6.
Things That Liberate: An Australian Feminist Wunderkammer, Edited by Alison Bartlett, Margaret Henderson
2013
This collection of essays explores objects that changed Australian women’s lives through their association with women’s liberation, the women’s movement, and feminism since 1970.
Making Women Count, Marian Sawer with Gail Radford
2008
A History of the Women’s Electoral Lobby in Australia
Brazen Hussies, Jean Taylor
2009
A Herstory of Radical Activism in the Women’s Libration Movement in Victoria 1970 - 1979
Australian feminism : a companion, general editor Barbara Caine ; with Moira Gatens ... [et al.].
Lost: Illegal Abortion Stories, Edited by Jo Wainer
2006
"Twenty years ago Dr Bertram Wainer, the abortion reform doctor and campaigner, placed an advertisement in a newspaper asking women who had illegal abortions to come forward to tell their stories. Their personal testimonies and the accounts from doctors and nurses are published for the first time in this collection"
The Seventies: The personal, the political and the making of modern Australia, Michelle Arrow
2019
The Seventies was the decade that shaped modern Australia. It was the decade of ‘It’s Time’, stagflation and the Dismissal, a tumultuous period of economic and political upheaval. But the Seventies was also the era when the personal became political, when we had a Royal Commission into Human Relationships and when social movements tore down the boundary between public and private life. Women wanted childcare, equal pay, protection from violence and agency to shape their own lives. In the process, the reforms they sought — and achieved, at least in part — reshaped Australia’s culture and rewrote our expectations of government.
Single but Not Alone, Deanne Carson and Fiona Hendry
1999
In 1969 a group of ‘unmarried mothers’ banded together to challenge the systems and social attitudes preventing single women from raising their own children. At a time when women were being forced to give their babies up for adoption and children born out of wedlock had no legal status, these women fought for legitimacy and their right to be mothers and won, forever changing the political and social landscape for single mothers in Australia.
Trouble, Kate Jennings
Talkin' Up to the White Woman, Aileen Moreton-Robinson
2006
In this ground-breaking and timeless book, Distinguished Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson undertakes a compelling analysis of the whiteness of Australian feminism and its effect on Indigenous women.
Mother I'm Rooted, Editor: Kate Jennings
1975
A poetry anthology. These poets speak from all corners of the female social situation in Australia, and cover the whole spectrum of political consciousness … the anthology includes the whole gamut of women’s experience, married, single, lesbian, heterosexual, mothers, workers housewives. Poets, they speak out in tones of despair, anger, melancholy, loneliness, solidarity, sardonic bitterness, humour, hope and hopelessness.
Damned Whores and God’s Police, Anne Summers
1975
Sexual harassment, domestic violence and date rape had not been named, although they certainly existed, when Damned Whores and God’s Police was first published in 1975. That was before the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 and before large numbers of women became visible in employment, in politics and elsewhere across society. It’s hard to imagine an Australia where these abuses were not yet fully understood as obstacles to women’s equality, yet that was Australia in 1975.
Unfettered and Alive: A Memoir, Anne Summers
All That False Instruction, Kerryn Higgs/Spinifex Press
1975
A fictionalised memoir and the first out lesbian novel to be published in Australia
The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis, Barbara Creed
1993
Phallic Panic: Film, Horror and the Primal Uncanny, Barbara Creed
2005
Bringing the Fight, Merle Thornton
Father-Daughter Rape, Elizabeth Ward
1984
JOURNALS
MeJane
Liberation
Refractory Girl
Mabel
Vashti’s Voice
Anarcho-Surrealist-Insurrectionary-Feminist (AS IF) manifesto, 1973
BRAZEN FILMS
Monster, Director: Sarah Gibson Producer: Susan Lambert
1974
A drama documentary which traces the experiences of two lesbians as they attempt to discover their identities through contact with and involvement in the Women's Movement.
Behind Closed Doors
Director: Sarah Gibson Producer: Susan Lambert
Or Forever Hold Your Peace ..., Producer: Richard Brennan
1970
Documentary feature covering 24 hours of the May 1970 Moratorium in Sydney against the war in Vietnam. Duration:
Not Take It Any More, Director/Producer: Vicki Molloy
1976
Interviews with residents and workers in a womens' halfway house (refuge) in Melbourne.
Sara Dowse's Home Movies Mt Beauty
1973
HOME MOVIES. C1973. Of Women's Liberation Conference at Mt Beauty, Victoria.
As A Matter of Fact: A film about abortion, Directors: Susan Lambert, Sarah Gibson Producer: Carole Kostanich
1979
A direct and straight forward presentation of abortion as a woman's choice. Discusses the options and support services available.
For Love Or Money, Director: Jeni Thornley, Megan McMurchy Producer: Margot Oliver, Jeni Thornley, Megan McMurchy Editor: Margot Nash
1983
Tells the story of women's working lives throughout Australia's history. Juxtaposes clips from feature films, home movies, newsreels and documentaries with radio shows, diaries, popular songs, letters and interviews. Explores the challenges that face women in the nuclear age. Duration: 01:48:00
We Aim To Please, Creators: Margot Nash & Robin Laurie
1977
A film about female sexuality that not only touches the areas of paranoia, fear and doubt, which women, experience in relation to their bodies and physical self image, but which is also joyful, erotic and funny.
Abortion Demonstration, Director: Martha Ansara
1970
ABORTION DEMONSTRATION : PRO ABORTIONISTS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST NEW LEGISLATION : 1970
Starting Right Now, Director: Gillian Leahy
1975
An advertisement for sisterhood...part street theatre, part commercial. bright colours, bright music, laughing faces and raucous, rollicking women. A film to make you feel good.
Hearts and Spades, Director: Virginia Coutts, Pat Fiske, Gillian Leahy Producers: Gillian Leahy, Pat Fiske
1974
A dramatic film which explores the ambiguous feelings women experience towards men.
Film For Discussion, Director: Martha Ansara
1974
A documentary made by a group of people based on their own experiences. The film provides the raw material for discussions on women and work, consumerism, relationships between men and women, and family life.
Ningla A--Na, Director/Producer: Alessandro Cavadini
1972
For the first time in 200 years of white domination, Aboriginal people had confronted the government at a national level and, in the words of Bobbi Sykes, "scored a political victory". With such movements as The National Black Theatre, The Medical Service, The Legal Service, The Aboriginal Embassy, this film shows the efforts to develop a new black consciousness that relates to urban conditions and also regenerates strong tribal and community conditions. Duration: 00:45:00
Gay Lib and Women's Marches 1973-1974, Barbara Creed
Homosexuality: A Film For Discussion, Director/Producer: Barbara Creed
1975
Women and men talk about their lives and relationships, and the difficulty of growing up in a society that oppresses homosexuals. Duration: 00:43:00
Maidens, Producer: Jeni Thornley Director: Jeni Thornley
1978
Maidens is a biographical chronicle. It uses personal archives, made up of still and moving image, from both domestic and vocational sources, lyrical narration and emotive music to trace the filmmaking journey of one feminist (the filmmaker herself).
Abortion, Corruption and Cops - The Bertram Wainer Story, Director: John Moore Producers: John Moore, Sue Seeary Film Australia Collection (NFSA)
2005
The powerful story of Bertram Wainer’s crusade to overturn the laws against abortion in 1960s Victoria and the web of corruption he uncovered as a result. Duration: 52 minutes
Australian Biography Series 5: Zelda D’Aprano, Film Australia Collection (NFSA)
1996
Zelda D'Aprano (b. 1928, Melbourne, Vic.) spent much of her life as a working-class crusader for women's rights.
She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, Director/ Producer: Mary Dore Editor/ Producer: Nancy Kennedy
2014
SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY resurrects the buried history of the outrageous, often brilliant women who founded the modern US women’s movement from 1966 to 1971.
ORGANISATIONS & SUPPORT
PERSONAL SUPPORT
Are you experiencing an emergency? If so, please dial 000 now.
1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)
https://www.1800respect.org.au/
This hotline is staffed by trauma-informed counsellors who can provide 24-hour support for people impacted by sexual assault and abuse.
Beyond Blue
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
The Gender Centre
The Gender Centre Inc. is the peak state-wide multidisciplinary center of excellence providing a broad range of specialised services that enables the exploration of gender identity and assistance with the alleviation of gender dysphoria. We support trans and gender expressive people at every stage of their journey as they explore their authentic sense of self. This includes for some of our clients transitional support pre, mid, and post transition.
Legal Support
Justice Connect
https://justiceconnect.org.au/
We’re making the law work for good. We use the law to help people and community groups left behind by an unfair and complicated legal system.
Australian Human Right’s Commission’s National Information Service
1300-656-419 or (02) 9284 988.
The National Information Service (NIS) provides information and referrals for individuals, organisations and employers about a range of human rights and discrimination issues. This service is free and confidential.
Djirra
Djirra is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation focused on preventing and addressing family violence. The Melbourne-based organisation provides legal and non-legal support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who experience family violence - predominantly women.
Women’s Legal Services, Australia
Our mission is to promote a legal system that is safe, supportive, non-discriminatory and responsive to the needs of women accessing justice.
GENDER EQUALITY
Equality Rights Alliance
https://www.equalityrightsalliance.org.au/
Equality Rights Alliance is Australia’s largest network advocating for women’s equality, women’s leadership and recognition of women’s diversity. We bring together 61 organisations with an interest in advancing women’s equality.
Workplace Gender Equality Agency
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency is an Australian Government statutory agency created by the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.
The Agency is charged with promoting and improving gender equality in Australian workplaces.
Women’s Electoral Lobby
The Women’s Electoral Lobby is a national, independent, non-party political, feminist lobby group that for 45 years has worked tirelessly to improve the position of women in society.
CONNECTING
National Rural Women’s Coalition
https://www.nrwc.com.au/
The National Rural Women's Coalition provides a collaborative voice for women living in rural, remote and regional Australia.
YWCA
https://www.ywca.org.au/
YWCA Australia is a leading feminist organisation. We’re a strong, united, proudly women-led organisation achieving real change through our advocacy and programs for women, young women and girls.
Victorian Women’s Trust
We are an independent advocate for women and girls. Since 1985, we have been promoting true gender equality through annual grants, targeted research, education, policy submissions, events and more.
FEMCO
The Fitzroy High School Feminist Collective was formed in 2013. The purpose of the group is to promote education within high schools about feminist issues.
COUNTRY WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA
Advances the rights and equity of women, families and communities in Australia through advocacy and empowerment, especially for those living in regional, rural and remote Australia.
A USEFUL LIST OF WOMEN’S NETWORKING GROUPS:
https://publicrelationssydney.com.au/useful-list-of-womens-networking-groups/
CONNECTING
Feminist Writers’ Festival
All About Women
Women’s Agenda