Comparing Communism And Socialist Feminism

Until the 1960s, feminism was widely regarded as a sub-set of liberalism and socialism, rather than as an ideology in its own right. Today, however, feminism can be considered a single doctrine in that all feminists subscribe to a range of ‘common ground’ beliefs, such as the existence of a patriarchal society, and the desire to change gender inequalities. Then again, it can be argued that feminism is characterised more by disagreement than consensus, as three broad traditions: liberal feminism, Marxist or socialist feminism, and radical feminism, which often contain rival tendencies, are encompassed within each core feminist theme. This essay will argue that, despite tensions between its

In this paper, I will explain how the article “The Lady and the Tramp (II): Feminist Welfare Politics, Poor Single Mothers, and the Challenge of Welfare Justice” by Gwendolyn Mink relates to the thematic focus of working women and the Marxist and socialist branch of feminism. In Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction, Rosemarie Tong explains that Marxist and socialist feminists understand women’s oppression as a labor issue. Women’s work is not viewed as a productive contribution to society. One of the ways Marxist and socialist feminists sought to improve women’s oppression was through the wages-for-housework campaign of the 1970s, which fought for work done in the domestic sphere to be paid and respected by society. In this same vein, Mink’s article can be viewed as a continuation of sorts of the wages-for-housework campaign. Mink suggests that poor single mothers have the right for their work to be recognized by society and supported economically like the Marxist and socialist feminist in the 1970s.

Traditional gender roles (men performing instrumental tasks and women performing expressive tasks) are viewed as important not only for the individual but also for the economic and social order of society. Failure to maintain the traditional division of labor is believed to lead to destruction of family life as well as higher rates of crime, violence, and drug abuse. Human capital theorists claim that sex differences in promotion rates are due to sex differences in commitment, education, and experience; women are believed to have less to offer employers. Even if these differences exist, this position ignores the fact that women are in a system of inequality, where social expectations prevent them from having qualifications that are similar to men. The conflict perspective emphasizes men’s control over scarce resources. The gendered division of labor within families and in the workplace results from male control of and dominance over women and resources. Differentials between men and women may exist in terms of economic, political, physical, and/or interpersonal power. Men remain the head of household and control the property. Also, men gain power through their predominance in the most highly paid and prestigious occupations and the highest elected offices. Liberal/Equal Rights Feminists – seek equal access for females within the current social system; focus is on equality of opportunity (e.g., civil rights and occupational equality). Radical/Transformative Feminists –

Women who are working now have several more rights than women in history. Although women today still do not have all of the same rights as men do, the problem is on a different and lesser scale. Throughout the history of women’s rights there have been three major waves of feminism. All of these waves were centered on getting equal rights for both men and women. Women have made large leaps in wanting social, economic, and political power.

Feminism and feminist social theory unlike other theoretical perspectives is woman-centered and inter-disciplinary, hence promotes methods of achieving social justice. The feminism and feminist social theory takes into consideration three questions, what of the women? Why is the present social world as it is today? Additionally, how can the social world be changed to make it more just for the women and all people alike? In recent developments, feminist theorists have begun questioning the differences between women. The areas under question include race, ethnicity, class, age intersect, and gender. In summation, the feminist theory involves the concern with giving women world over voice, and highlighting how they have contributed to the

Feminist theory focuses on gender inequality. There are multiple perspectives within feminist theory as a whole which theorize “how and why gender inequality has come about and why it continues to operate” (Crabtree). For the purpose of analyzing sexual harassment in the workplace, radical feminism, socialist feminism, and liberal feminism provide the best arguments for why this social problem occurs. Radical feminism posits that gender inequality is the result of “women’s oppression through social institutions”,

Problems upon women feminist with employment began around the late 19th century to the early 20th. Suffrage campaigners mostly women who urged the power to help women gain their rights as individuals. Women lacked many higher powers like voting, hard labor working, some even couldn’t leave the house. It was the Women’s Liberation Movement also known as the “second wave feminism” in the late 1960s that had the greatest impact on women’s history. Gaining contribution in institutions such as the family, drawing attention to the significance of sexual divisions in the workplace. Readers can argue that the power between women and men emphasizes a very important topic when discussing conflicts to interpret the understandings of movements that helped

Marxism definition - the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Marx; especially : a theory and practice of socialism including the labour theory of value, dialectical materialism, the class struggle, and dictatorship of the proletariat until the establishment of a classless society(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Marxism)

The key to this goal, in turn, is a socialist revolution that creates a state-centred economy operating to meet the needs of all. Such a basic transformation of society requires that women and men pursue their personal liberation together, rather than individually, as liberal feminists maintain. ”[4] 3) The third form of feminism is radical feminism. This, as the name suggests is the most extreme version of feminism, it disregards the liberal theory as “superficial and inadequate,”[5] and they claim that even a socialist revolution would not end patriarchy.

The worldwide thought of women 's liberation alludes to the conviction that men and ladies merit uniformity in all open doors, treatment, admiration, and social rights. All in all, women 's activists are individuals who attempt to recognize social disparity taking into account sexual orientation and prevent it from proceeding.

Socialist feminists associate the domination of women to socialist and Marxist theory philosophies regarding misuse, abuse and the work of women. Socialist activists think unequal statuses in both the work environment and the household circle is what suppresses women (why social feminism 2016). Socialist feminists see prostitution, housework, childcare and marriage as courses in which women are abused by a patriarchal framework that degrades women and the considerable work they do. Socialist activists center their energies on wide change throughout society, as opposed to focusing on an individual premise, in contrast to the liberal feminism theory. Socialist feminism sees the need to work close by men, not just in the work place but in different

Marxist Feminism is focused on explaining the ways women are oppressed through the systems of capitalism and private affairs. A Marxist feminist would say that equality can only be reached through a radical reconstruction of the capitalist economy where most of women’s labor is not compensated. In regards to the wage gap, a Marxists feminist believes that there are two kinds of labor, one is a productive labor that results in getting paid in money. The second is reproductive which is not involved with the capitalist system, but it’s more private affairs that involves working to live for oneself. Cleaning, cooking, having children and simple errands are all things that fall into the private, reproductive sphere of labor. It’s said that women are basically assigned to the reproductive labor and are expected to fall into the reproductive unpaid labor instead of productive paid labor. Marxists Feminists argue that this is the root of unequal

After installing and agreeing that both genders being part of a one social segment or unit, therefore having the power to run against capitalism and actually defeating it, the real question asked by feminists that comes into play is will they do it? Can they trust in fighting against a system that has worked in their benefit for such a long time? Will they support equality within the domestic realm and in the work market? Will they accept the different aspects of this so called equality as it applies to all aspects of the daily life? Will they stop thinking that it is an understatement of their potentials? The questions remain unanswered.

During the fourth week of class, we discussed the connection that capitalism has to the reinforcement of feminine domestic ideals. It is the way that labour is organized in contemporary Canadian society, along with the values that are connected with this economic system that perpetuate ideals surrounding labour and gender roles. Examples of these are ideals surrounding marriage and women’s work in the home. When speaking about capitalism, Marxist ideas are often brought up. Marxist analysis looks at the relations of production, between those who own the means of production, and those who do not (Rahman & Jackson, 2010, p. 67). Marxist feminists use this as a starting point. Instead of looking at the relations between the bourgeoise or capitalist class and the proletariat or working class though, Marxist feminists look at women’s exploited labour under male domination, seeing women as a ‘class’ of exploited workers (Rahman & Jackson, 2010, p. 67).

The feminist era started in the late 1700’s with English philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft whom started the movement of gender equality (Wonderslist, 2016). Since this time, several feminist continued the movement for women’s rights focusing on topics such as suffrage, voting rights, and women’s health. I have deep respect for our historical feminist and feel that the gender inequality continues to be a problem in our society that we must continue to fight. The problem is term feminism has taken on many shapes and beliefs throughout the century and we have lost our views from our historical feminist whom main focus was on equal rights. I examined several resources regarding feminism and found that I have mixed emotions regarding the term “feminism”