Taking place on 29 January, the day will amplify dyke culture, resistance, joy, sex, politics, mess, love, and community
BY ELLA GAUCI, CREDIT: ATALANTA KERNICK (CAST), SIOBHAN FAHEY (PRODUCER), RACHEL SMITH (REBEL DYKES ARCHIVIST, BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE), KAREN FISCH (CAST), EMILY WITHAM (ARTIST)
Save the date! The inaugural International Rebel Dykes Day will be taking place on 29 January. This new celebration will provide a space for “dykes outlaws, protestors, direct action dykes, bikers, butches, pervs, punks, sex workers, artists, activists, organisers and troublemakers who built dyke culture where none was provided”.
International Rebel Dykes Day will take place on 29 January to mark the anniversary of the first-ever Chain Reaction club night. Chain Reaction was a legendary dyke fetish club that ran until 1990. Seija, Founder of Chain Reaction, describes the club as being “freedom”.
This new awareness day was prompted after the Descendant Of A Rebel Dykes Exhibition at Homotopia in Liverpool last year. The new celebration is also inspired by the Rebel Dykes Archive held at the Bishopsgate Institute and Harri Shanahan and Siân A. Williams’ documentary Rebel Dykes.
Siobhan Fahey, producer for Rebel Dykes, said: “International Rebel Dykes Day is a bit of a leap into the unknown. We don’t know if it will work but dyke culture has always been built that way. This is an opportunity for DIY Dyke community to come together to create memories, joy, and make space together.”
Emily Witham’s Descendants of Rebel Dykes banner will be the official banner of International Rebel Dykes Day.
Fisch, Cast Member at Rebel Dykes, explains why this is so vital. “Time for the Rebel in Rebel Dykes to be a verb”
How can you take part in International Rebel Dykes Day?
- Talk about it
- Share International Rebel Dykes Day social media @rebeldykes
- Host a screening, meet-up, club night, or workshop
- Support dyke artists, archives, and spaces
- Visit the International Rebel Dykes Day archive pop-up at Bishopsgate Institute on 29 January 2026
- Watch our socials for more events happening in Edinburgh and Dublin
- Use #InternationalRebelDykesDay
- Dream bigger for next year
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