Wages Due Lesbians

Stop the Clause march, London January 1988

Contact details

Address: Crossroads Women‘s Centre, 25 Wolsey Mews, London NW5 2DX.

Email: queerstrike@queerstrike.net

Phone: +44 20 7482 2496

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Wages Due Lesbians (WDL) was formed in 1975 as the first of several autonomous organisations in the International Wages for Housework Campaign, with bases in London, Philadelphia and San Francisco, and a wider network in several other countries including in the global South. WDL has always been international and multi-racial and includes lesbian, bi, trans, queer women campaigning for our economic, legal and human rights; for payment for caring work, taking the money away from military budgets (over one trillion a year) for the essentials of life, and to end our poverty so that women everywhere can afford to make the life choices we want, including who we live with, what sort of families we want and sexual choices, without fear of violence and discrimination.

In 2000 WDL was part of the first Global Women’s Strike, on 8 March, co-ordinated by WFH. As the Strike developed, WDL decided to change its name to Queer Strike, to be more inclusive, to be connected to the Strike in a more explicit way. It’s members also felt the name Queer Strike was more reflective of where the movement had reached by then, especially with the inclusion of trans and queer women, reclaiming “queer”, making clear that we are proud of who we are.

Over the years WDL and now Queer Strike has fought for:
- lesbian mothers’ right to have and to keep our children
- asylum from homophobia for women escaping violence and discrimination in their country of origin
- decriminalization of sex work – making the case for “sexual outlaws” against police brutality and discrimination, and for women’s financial independence
- justice for rape survivors, and victims of police brutality,
- recognition of the work of dealing with homophobia/transphobia
- anti-racism and other discrimination in the queer movement
- measuring and valuing all unwaged work, in the home, on the land and in the community
- a Care Income for everyone caring for people and planet

And against:
- discrimination in jobs, housing, benefits . . .
- the corporatization of “Pride” – we’ve always said Pride was a Protest, not a Party!
- co-option of queers into the military – from the time of the Iraq war we said
“No Pride in the Slaughter of others”; supported gay military refuseniks and whistleblowers, especially Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning
- pinkwashing of Israeli Apartheid and occupation of Palestine– we protested the involvement in the LGBTIQ movement of NGOs and others who have taken money from Israel which is trying to present itself as a progressive, gay-friendly state, while it’s actually an apartheid state. Given the continuing genocide in Gaza, as we write, this is a matter of life and death.