Riot Women and lesbians in the 1970s | Letters

Perhaps Tiff Bakker was misled by the title of Sally Wainwright’s BBC series Riot Women (There is a fascinating TV series to be made about a menopausal rock band – Riot Women isn’t it, 22 October). Ms Bakker reaches back into the 20th century to make her point, and says that “lesbians have always been invisible to society”. Lesbians were visible and audible in 1970s feminism. My late friend Sheila talked about the ideas behind Lesbian Nation by Jill Johnston, and tried to persuade me that “feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice”. In a career almost unimaginable without 70s feminism, Sheila became a rabbi. Through circumstance and solidarity, another late friend, Frances, was emboldened to write, sing and make music with others. She became Vi Subversa, the lead singer, lyricist and rhythm guitarist in the anarcho-punk band Poison Girls. They played benefit gigs for the peace movement and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Their song Bully Boys made them a target for the National Front. Moments in Riot Women remind me of Frances/Vi when, unexpectedly, she began to write about her experience. I’m sorry Ms Bakker can’t appreciate Riot Women for what it is rather than disparage it for something it isn’t.Janet DubéPeebles, Scottish Borders • Tiff Bakker castigates Sally Wainwright’s approach to Riot Women as superficial. I am feeling quite foolish as I had not realised that this series was claiming to celebrate the north-west American feminist punk movement. I thought I was watching and enjoying a drama about the fraught lives of a group of women who cope with honesty, generosity and humour – a drama that yet again displayed Wainwright’s exceptional writing. Kathleen Hamilton Peasenhall, Suffolk • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.