GENDER

Marxist Feminism

By Dale McKinley

Given the general failure of our liberation movement (and most others) to adequately theorise and practice a Marxist/socialist feminism, it is always somewhat of an intimidating task to tackle this area of our struggle. Even more so, if you are man. Nonetheless, it is men, and particularly those in our movement, who must begin to participate fully in debate and discussion and not be content to sit on the sidelines, always referring to feminism and gender as 'women's issues'. This contribution (which draws heavily from other sources), is therefore offered with both humility and confidence, but with a keen sense of taking our struggle for socialism forward

A Marxist analysis of women's oppression

According to the materialistic conception, the determining factor in history is, in the final instance, the production and reproduction of immediate life. This, again, is of a two-fold character: on the one side, the production of the means of existence (food, clothing, shelter and the tools necessary for that production), and, on the other, the production of human beings themselves, the propagation of the species. The social organization under which the people of a particular historical epoch and a particular country live is determined by both kinds of production; by the stage of development of labour on the one hand, and of the family on the other (Friedrich Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State).

It should be clear that there are two central aspects to a Marxist analysis of women's oppression:

• The origins of women's oppression are economic and social in character, and both of these coincided with the rise of class society (and all its institutions of the family, private property and the state).
• The family is an indispensable economic institution of class rule, although it has changed its form as the social relations of production have changed.

Understanding the character of women's oppression

We must also be clear about what a Marxist analysis rejects as an explanation for women's oppression (explanations that have come to dominate the 'feminist movement' today):

• It rejects all theories/arguments that women have always been oppressed because of their biological role in procreation. (For example, women's social status has changed between pre-class and class society, as well as within capitalist class society. The facts of biology provide no explanation for such changes).
• It rejects theories/arguments that there is some 'natural' difference between men and women that lay the foundation for women's oppression by men. If women's subordinate status in society is a result of men's and women's basic nature, why struggle to change it?
• It rejects theories/arguments that the oppression of women originates in the sex-segregation of work (in other words, in the fact that the work of men and women is different because of their sex). The division of labour, by itself, does not give rise to social inequality. (For example, if a man knows how to do something that a women does not, this doesn't automatically give him power over her - unless there is some material advantage involved that is allowed and encouraged through the institutions of private property).
• It rejects theories/arguments that the oppression of all women as a sex is equivalent to the repression of women's sexuality (ie sexism). While sexism is a key instrument of women's oppression, it is quite different from any particular kind of sexual activity. Sexual repression is the result of women's economic dependence, not the source of their 'inferior' status. (For example, women who are economically independent could pack their bags and leave such an oppressive institution such as the family - and many have).

The struggle for women's liberation

There are always two sides to revolutionary struggle - theory and practice. On the one side, theory gives us a description of the problems we face, provides an analysis of the forces which maintain social life, defines the problems we should concentrate on, and acts as a set of criteria for evaluating the strategies we develop. On the other side, practical struggle is the attempt to give living meaning to our theory, to find out what kind of activity is best suited to the conditions we find ourselves in, and to actually change our society.

In relation to our struggles for women's liberation in particular, it is of fundamental importance to have a clear understanding of what underpins that struggle. Marxists recognise the need for a broad women's liberation movement that is active, independent and can take on many diverse forms. However, it is not necessarily the character of such a movement that determines its politics, but the other way around. In other words, it is the political goal of a women's movement that should define its character.

For Marxists, that politics is the politics of class struggle. While all women are oppressed, those who suffer the greatest degree of class exploitation -working class women - generally suffer most from gender oppression. To successfully build a mass movement fighting for women's liberation requires a clear class orientation. It also requires clarity about the nature and direction of all other theories/arguments concerning women's oppression.

The tendency of our liberation movement to subordinate the struggle against women's oppression to a broad-based national democratic revolution needs to be acknowledged and corrected. A combination of a confident theory and creative practice will go a long way to ensuring that the struggle for women's liberation is at the centre of our struggle for socialism.

(Much of this article is taken from an article by
Pat Brewer - "The rise of rightwing feminism" - in
LINKS, No 7, July-October 1996)