This film is part of Free
The Important Thing Is Love
"I'm no man-hater": lesbian women discuss their lives, relationships and struggles against discrimination in this TV doc
Documentary 1971 50 mins
Overview
"It's queer, it's kinky" - the average man on the street might find lesbianism strange, but for the women interviewed in this surprisingly nuanced TV documentary, it's just an ordinary part of their lives. The women - butch, femme and everything in between - articulately discuss their lives, experiences and struggles with everyday discrimination, busting the myths that homosexuality is a disease and that gay women are doomed to loneliness.
Among the interviewees are Esme Langley (speaking outside in woolly hat and coat), founder of the Minorities Research Group, Charlotte Wolff, a psychotherapist and sexologist whose 1971 book Love Between Women offered some of the first serious research into lesbianism, and Doreen Cordell, a social worker with the Albany Trust, a charity providing counselling and support to the LGBT community.
Subjects
Related
Handpicked by our curators
Lesbians Lesbians
Current affairs 1965 26 mins Director: John Phillips
What is lesbianism? What causes it? ITV's This Week attempts to demystify lesbian sexuality.
Homosexual Equality Homosexual Equality
Factual TV 1974 50 mins Location: Westminster
The Campaign for Homosexual Equality is given airtime in the first ever community access series on British TV
Queer Britain
What's a Girl Like You ... What's a Girl Like You ...
Documentary 1969 52 mins Location: Vauxhall
Scintillating look at the 1960s drag renaissance, with a visit to London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
Gay Black Group Gay Black Group
Magazine and Review show 1983 25 mins Location: Bloomsbury
The Gay Black Group - reasserting culture and identity on two levels.
David Is Homosexual David Is Homosexual
Drama-documentary 1976 38 mins Location: Lewisham
A lonely gay man discovers friends, love and activism in this rediscovered educational film made by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
What Am I? What Am I?
Current affairs 1980 26 mins Location: Hay-on-Wye/Y Gelli Gandryll
Transgender pioneer April Ashley appears in this moving look at the challenges faced by the trans community in 1980s Britain
Paralysis Paralysis
Drama 2016 9 mins
Struggling with the pressures of homophobia when her partner is taken away by a hateful mother, a young gay woman struggles to cope with the traumas and anxieties of her life.
Facing the Sun Facing the Sun
Drama 1980 54 mins
Sao Paulo-set love triangle drama, featuring a rare TV depiction of bisexuality.
New
How to Die Young in Manila How to Die Young in Manila
Drama 2020 12 mins
A teenage boy trails a group of young hustlers, thinking one of them may be his anonymous hook-up for the night.
The Summer of 12 The Summer of 12
Drama 2019 25 mins
Amongst the young members of a swimming team, the onset of puberty brings unwanted challenges.
Melt Melt
Drama 2018 12 mins
When Little Jia is asked to read his essay about how he spent Women's Day with his mother out loud in class, he has to hide the sad truth that only his friend Dong knows.
We Outlaws We Outlaws
Drama 2019 33 mins
China in the early 1990s. By day, Chen Shi is a man employed in a textile workshop. At night, she is a woman in a red dress. One evening, she falls in love with a man she meets at a dance hall.
Langit Budak Biru Langit Budak Biru
Drama 2018 23 mins
Two teenage boys in a Malaysian boarding school wrestle with the challenges of bullying and identity.
Kiss of the Rabbit God Kiss of the Rabbit God
Fantasy 2019 15 mins
A Chinese-American restaurant worker falls in love with an 18th century Qing dynasty god, who visits him at night and leads him on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery.