The 1970s and 1980s

This chapter focuses on the 1970s and 1980s and continues the theme of women in male-dominated positions, extending it by contrasting the experiences of women in the feature film sector with those who actively built film communities outside mainstream production. Looking first at women in camera and sound jobs, it discusses how they faced the choice of either “fitting in or fighting” and the strategies they adopted to survive in a macho working environment. The chapter then moves on to examine women's experiences in the workshop sector, a unique feature of the decade's film culture, which supported cross-job working, media education, and training. Through a focus on the themes of child care, women-only spaces, class, and ethnicity, the chapter explores the possibilities, and limitations, of work outside the mainstream film industry. It also opens up the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and sexuality and argues for a wider recognition of Black women's pedagogy in film history.