marxist & socialist feminism presentation

8/10/2019 Marxist & Socialist Feminism Presentation

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Socialist Feminism.



Friedrich Engles feminism started after Marx’s deathin the 20th Century.

Engles believed that the raised conscious of womencould hel to su ort a broader revolutionary

movement.Marxists feminists are concerned with ine!ualities in

the wor" lace and the home. #hey believe that the e!uality of women relies u on

the destruction of ca italist ex loitation in gender. #here a roach tends to be towards the ublic

s here$ aying articular attention to un aid labour.

How it Started...



%rgue that ca italism and atriarchy is the mainsource of female o ression$ by dismantlingca italism women will be liberated.&omen subsidise the ca italist system indirectly

because they raise the next generation of wor"ersat a very low cost to the state.Marxist feminists believe that only the abolition ofca italism can solve the ine!uality between men

and women.'ocialist feminist however$ believe that ca italisto ression can be sto ed but by arliamentaryreform$ not revolution.

Elements of Marxist and SocialistFeminism - Eleanor and Rachel T



Marxism see class division rather than gender asthe root of women’s o ression.For Marxists much feminism is a bourgeois theorythat see"s to reform the system to the advantage

of some women$ rather than get rid of the systemthat ex loits the vast ma(ority of women and men.

#he Marxist feminist a roach tends$ li"e liberalfeminism to be oriented towards the ublic s here

and given its concern with the organisation oflabour generally ays articular attention towomen’s osition in relation to waged labour.

Main Elements of MarxistFeminism



'ocialist feminists attem t to maintain some elementsof Marxism regarding the signi)cance of classdistinctions and labour while incor orating the radicalfeminist view that sexual o ression is not historicallya conse!uence of class division.

#he second ma(or strand of socialist feminismattem ts to draw the wor" of radical and Marxistfeminists into one theory ower and describes auni)ed system sometimes referred to as ca italist

atriarchy.'ocialist feminists are sub(ected to two forms ofo ression* that of the ca italist state and that of menat home and in their ersonal lives.

Main Elements of MarxistFeminism



+ac"ground,•

Ehrenreich was born into a wor"ing class family inthe town of Montana$ - /-. #his was until her fathergained a degree from the +utte 'chool of Mines andby her teens$ they had achieved middle classstatus’.

• #his enabled Ehrenreich to read Chemistry at 1eed

College followed by a h3 in cell biology.

Barbara Ehrenreich.

• 4er shifting from one scienti)c disci line to another ins ired thecon)dence of being able to learn anything if she tried.

• Ehrenreich’s transformation as a feminist was rom ted by herex erience of giving birth. 5n - 67$ she told the 8lobe and Mail’news a er that her labour was induced$ because it was late and thedoctor wanted to go home’.

• #his led to her involvement in the &omen’s 4ealth Movement’$striving for better and e!ual healthcare amongst women.

• 4er boo"s and essays have been widely ublished and she has wonawards such as the 'ydney 4illman %ward for 9ournalism.



Global Woman: annies! Maids " Sex Wor#ers $n theew Econom% &'(()*:

• Ehrenreich says that if a woman is to succeed in a toughmale world’$ she must hand over the care of her children$home and elderly arents to women from the develo ingworld.

• 5t is thought that :0; of global immigrants are female.Millions of these overty<stric"en women abandon their own

children and families in order to migrate as nannies$ maidsand sometimes sex wor"ers. 8lobal ca italism is thusde icted as utting huge ressure on women and theirfamilies.

•

Ehrenreich says there has been a global transferal ofservices$ associated with the role of the ty ical house<wife’.'he describes this as a care de)cit’.

• Ehrenreich argues that the globalisation of women isdamaging to the families left behind 'he also argues that

’



ic#el and +imed: ,n &not* ettin b% in merica &'((/*: #his highlights the e=ects of the Personal Responsibility and WorkOpportunity Act of 1996 on the wor"ing oor and women,

•

+y condemning unem loyment$ the state encourages the individual to )ndthe )rst (ob that comes along and thus be overly submissive or manageableto the em loyer. Ehrenreich says this is an unfair ultimatum betweenacce ting em loyment on the bosses terms or ris"ing homelessness.

• Ehrenreich says there are elements of misogyny within the %ct. #he singlemother is ex loited’ and must wor" for less ay than is liveable. #he state’santi<unem loyment scheme facilitates this.

>#hey neglect their own children so that the children of others will be caredfor?

>#hey endure de rivation so in@ation will be low?

Ehrenreich is thus saying that the wor"ing oor$ articularly womenare the

hilanthro ists of society and the &elfare 1eform %ct of - Afuels this.



4eavy em hasis on ca italism causinggender ine!uality5ne!ualities have already been reducedunder ca italist systems

laces to much em hasis to the economics here$ doesn’t focus on the domestic s here&hen it does$ sim ly assumes all homema"ers

are ex loited by husbandsBfathers1evolution is unnecessary$ unli"ely andundesirable

Main 0riticisms1a2ren

marxist & socialist feminism presentation

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