In 1976, I was an Honours student in Philosophy. I proposed for my 10,000 -word thesis the subject of separatism. It was a year full of surprises, shake-ups and some very difficult times. Throughout it all I was writing about separatism. I was a good piece of work, but finding an examiner in the department was difficult. 

In the book I examine the structures of power, oppression, domination and institutions and go on to discuss the institution of heterosexualty and the ways in which rape and romantic love play into women's oppression. I conclude by considering separatism, its critics and defenders.

As the conversations around the importance of women's spaces have heated up in 2019, I decided it was time to put my work out into the public sphere as a book. It also includes a Preface, Afterword and footnotes in italics all of which help to contextualise the discussions feminists and lesbians are having especially in the English-language world.

The book and ebook is available now.

In Defence of Separatism is in the Spinifex Shorts series and continues the variations on the beautiful artwork by Estelle Disch