Professor Rae Frances, Dean of the College of Arts and Social Scienes, will launch Everyday Revolutions: Remaking Gender, Sexuality and Culture in 1970s Australia edited by Michelle Arrow and Angela Woollacott.

The book brings together new research on the cultural and social impact of the feminist and sexual revolutions of the 1970s in Australia. Gay Liberation and Women’s Liberation movements erupted, challenging almost every aspect of Australian life. The pill became widely available and sexuality was both celebrated and flaunted. Campaigns to decriminalise abortion and homosexuality emerged across the country. Activists set up women’s refuges, rape crisis centres and counselling services. Governments responded to new demands for representation and rights, appointing women’s advisors and funding new services. Everyday Revolutions is unique in its focus not on the activist or legislative achievements of the women’s and gay and lesbian movements, but on their cultural and social dimensions. It is a diverse and rich collection of essays that reminds us that women’s and gay liberation were revolutionary movements. Also featuring at the launch is the journal issue: Michelle Arrow and Angela Woollacott (eds), ‘How the Personal became Political: The Gender and Sexuality Revolutions in 1970s Australia’, Special Issue of Australian Feminist Studies, Vol. 33, No. 95, March 2018.

This event is hosted by the Humanities Research Centre and the ANU Gender Institute