'BRAZEN HUSSIES introduces contemporary audiences to the Australian second wave feminists, who declared war on 'male chauvinism', traditional sex roles and demanded that women be set free from the 'chains of femininity'. This feature documentary traces how the Australian Women's Liberation Movement was born amidst the tumultuous politics of the 1960s, influenced by the anti-war, anti-imperialist, and civil rights movements worldwide. The film combines a treasure trove of startling archive footage with interviews from key activists from around Australia.
'From its first stirrings in Brisbane in 1965 to its controversial incursions into the Whitlam government from 1973 to 1975, the film shows how women began organising around issues such as equal pay, reproductive rights, affordable childcare, and the prevention of family violence and rape. As the story unfolds, these issues go from being dismissed as the outrageous demands of a few "brazen hussies'' to becoming crucial elements on the platforms of Australia's major political parties.
'From the radical arm of the 'Women's Libbers' to the reform-focused groups such as the Women's Electoral Lobby, BRAZEN HUSSIES shows the diversity of women involved, and the collective power it took to achieve change. The film explores how ASIO spied on the movement, the pushback by the male-dominated media, and the impact of internal struggles within the movement. Tensions emerge over the inclusion of lesbians and the relevance of the movement to Aboriginal women. These struggles are laid bare to show how the activities of a small group of determined women grew into a huge social movement and ultimately changed the lives and opportunities of ALL women.
'By going back in time, BRAZEN HUSSIES reveals how the changes demanded by these women 50 years ago, have paved the way for where feminism finds itself today. While the landscape, breadth and diversity of feminism is vastly different today - without this movement and the changes it achieved, we wouldn't be where we are now. Recording and celebrating this important history, offers a valuable opportunity to reassess and discuss where we are at as a society, what gains have been made, what is at risk and where we are headed. While the struggle is far from over, women and girls today will be inspired by the pioneering efforts of those who came before them and changed the world forever.' (Production summary)
'On an overcast Monday in March 2021, ten thousand people flooded into Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens for the March4Justice. It was a public outpouring of rage in response to a belated #MeToo moment within Australian federal politics. After sexual assault campaigner Grace Tame was named Australian of the Year, former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins went public with allegations she had been raped in Parliament House. Mere weeks later, a historic rape allegation against Attorney-General Christian Porter hit the headlines. To all appearances, the scourge of sexual violence was running rampant within the highest offices in the country. In Treasury Gardens, the crowd voiced their disgust, joining a chorus of 110,000 at over forty events across the country. Many of those holding signs were older women, veterans of Women’s liberation, who expressed dismay that – five decades on – they were still protesting rape and gendered violence. From beneath the plane trees, march organisers led the Melbourne crowd in a rendition of Helen Reddy’s 1972 single ‘I Am Woman’. The anthem of women’s lib was back to rouse the masses once more.' (Introduction)
'Brazen Hussies is an ambitious documentary. With first-time writer/director Catherine Dwyer at the helm, it attempts to trace the women’s movement from 1965 to 1975. The documentary begins by introducing the viewer to the events that sparked the second-wave women’s movement in Australia. It then follows major events and key conflicts before ending the decade with the highs, and lows, of International Women’s Year in 1975. It adopts a traditional documentary format that moves through the decade chrono-thematically and weaves footage and images with talking head style interviews. Brazen Hussies is fast-paced and utilises energetic DIY-style graphics as well as whip-smart editing to tell an engaging story. For example, as Elizabeth Reid – women’s advisor to former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam – described the clothes that she had worn to a meeting with Whitlam at The Lodge – a Laura Ashley dress over underpants with the women’s liberation symbol on the front – a DIY-style graphic depicted a woman lifting up her dress to reveal bright red underpants with the design that Reid had described. While wearing underwear with a feminist logo may not seem subversive to a contemporary audience, the use of DIY-style graphics was a punchy and playful way to convey how brazen Reid would have felt.' (Introduction)
'Rage and roar are two words commonly used to describe the events of Monday 15 March, when tens of thousands joined the March4Justice: the emotional rage fuelling the protests; the roar of angry shouting voices raised against the treatment of women.' (Introduction)
'The moment feminist author Kate Jennings took to the microphone at a moratorium on the front lawn of Sydney University in 1970 is presented as a galvanising catalyst of Australia’s women’s liberation movement in Catherine Dwyer’s documentary film Brazen Hussies.'
'Catherine Dwyer’s excellent documentary, Brazen Hussies, is a timely reminder as to how quickly attitudes towards women, not just in Australia but in many parts of the western world, changed between 1965 and 1975. The rise of feminism is depicted both via an exemplary use of archive footage, much of it revelatory, and also by means of interviews with many of the women who, 50 years ago, were at the forefront of women’s liberation and who, it must be said, have aged with distinction and grace.' (Introduction)
'Brazen Hussies is an ambitious documentary. With first-time writer/director Catherine Dwyer at the helm, it attempts to trace the women’s movement from 1965 to 1975. The documentary begins by introducing the viewer to the events that sparked the second-wave women’s movement in Australia. It then follows major events and key conflicts before ending the decade with the highs, and lows, of International Women’s Year in 1975. It adopts a traditional documentary format that moves through the decade chrono-thematically and weaves footage and images with talking head style interviews. Brazen Hussies is fast-paced and utilises energetic DIY-style graphics as well as whip-smart editing to tell an engaging story. For example, as Elizabeth Reid – women’s advisor to former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam – described the clothes that she had worn to a meeting with Whitlam at The Lodge – a Laura Ashley dress over underpants with the women’s liberation symbol on the front – a DIY-style graphic depicted a woman lifting up her dress to reveal bright red underpants with the design that Reid had described. While wearing underwear with a feminist logo may not seem subversive to a contemporary audience, the use of DIY-style graphics was a punchy and playful way to convey how brazen Reid would have felt.' (Introduction)
'Rage and roar are two words commonly used to describe the events of Monday 15 March, when tens of thousands joined the March4Justice: the emotional rage fuelling the protests; the roar of angry shouting voices raised against the treatment of women.' (Introduction)
