Brazen Hussies (2020), directed by Catherine Dwyer

Students of history and feminism may think they have a good handle on the rise of the women’s movement in Australia. While Brazen Hussies hits some familiar notes and shows a few well-known faces, it also takes a deep dive into all aspects of the movement for change in the key decade of 1965 to 1975. Small actions and consciousness-raising grew into mass protests and political action, with women united by anger and a determination to achieve equality. Contemporary interviews with a huge variety of activist women are bolstered by archival footage of these same women and their contemporaries. Equal pay, discrimination, reproductive rights, sexual harassment and domestic violence – great strides were made on these and many other issues after the Whitlam government was elected in 1972, based on the work done by the women’s movement and its allies. But 50 years later all these issues are still live concerns for women and the progress made cannot be taken for granted. The documentary doesn’t flinch from depicting the conflict and disagreements that were inevitable within such a broad-based movement. Ultimately it was a victim of its own success, with groupings such as lesbian separatists, aboriginal activists and the Women’s Electoral Lobby inevitably having different goals and methods. Through the ages the men who write it have often obliterated women’s history. This film underlines the importance of acknowledging and building on the work done by previous generations to secure the gains women have made and keep moving towards equality.