Marxist feminism

Marxism follows the development of oppression and class division in the evolution of human society through the development and organization of wealth and production, and concludes the evolution of oppressive societal structure to be relative to the evolution of oppressive family structures, i.e., the normalization of oppressing the female sex marks or coincides with the birth of oppressive society in general. In The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State (1884), Friedrich Engels writes about the earliest origins of the family structure, social hierarchy, and the concept of wealth, drawing from both ancient and contemporary study. He concludes that women originally had a higher social status and equal consideration in labor, and particularly, only women were sure to share a family name. As the earliest men did not even share the family name, Engels says, they did not know for sure who their children were or benefit from inheritance. When agriculture first became abundant and the abundance was considered male wealth, as it was sourced from the male work environment away from the home, a deeper wish for male lineage and inheritance was founded. To achieve that wish, women were not only granted their long-sought monogamy but forced into it as part of domestic servitude, while males pursued a hushed culture of "hetaerism". Engels describes this situation as coincidental to the beginnings of forced servitude as a dominant feature of society, leading eventually to a European culture of class oppression, where the children of the poor were expected to be servants of the rich. Engels rewrites a quote in this book, by himself and Marx from 1846, "The first division of labor is that between man and woman for the propagation of children," to say, "The first class opposition that appears in history coincides with the development of the antagonism between man and woman in monogamous marriage, and the first class oppression coincides with that of the female sex by the male." Gender oppression is reproduced culturally and maintained through institutionalized inequality. By privileging men at the expense of women and refusing to acknowledge traditional domestic labor as equally valuable, the working-class man is socialized into an oppressive structure which marginalizes the working-class woman. The original Marxist theory was not centered around the specific challenges faced by women. However, over time, it became evident that within a capitalist system, women experienced a distinct form of exploitation. This exploitation entailed reproductive and emotional labor, where women were often unrecognized and unpaid for their vital contributions. Their roles in caregiving, nurturing, and sustaining family life were rendered invisible, highlighting a critical oversight in the traditional Marxist discourse on labor and value. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels described the relationship between women and labor as reproductive labor having social forms that consist of marriage and the family, with the labor itself as biological. Additionally, women who performed this labor were established as biological beings who are unable to effect changes in these social order, arguing that social reproduction as labor that exists within the relations of capitalism[2]. As a result of patriarchal norms in society, women did the majority of all reproductive labor in the household under the control of men, therefore reproducing workers, including themselves, to return day after day ready to sell their labor to the capitalist; with that being said, the exchange value women’s labor in the household amounts to nothing. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels – Early Principles The early writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels formulated new concepts of social life and the growth of capital through the exploitation of labor forces. Marx and Engels suggested that social classes are defined by the relationship people have with the means of production. The classes consisted of the Proletariat and Bourgeois class which was composed of those who sold their labor for a wage, and those who earned capital through means of production. The Marxist definition of the structure of classes under capitalism is as follows: one class controls the means to produce goods, the wealth accumulates to the select group of owners due to their ability to hold the means to produce. The means to produce entails elements which can gain profit including intellectual rights, land, labor, natural resources, raw material, markets, and systems of distribution[2]. All the assets listed are privatized, owned and are categorized as a class society composed of the Bourgeois and Proletariat. Marx theorized that the Proletariat class would gain class consciousness and revolt against their oppressors. Despite Marx’s unwavering belief, his theory never came to fruition, and the proletariat class remains at the will of their oppressors. == Productive, unproductive, and reproductive labor ==

Marx categorized labor into two categories: productive and unproductive. • Productive labor is labor that creates surplus value, e.g. production of raw materials and manufacturing products. • Unproductive labor does not create surplus value and may in fact be subsidized by it. This can include supervisory duties, bookkeeping, marketing, etc. Early Marxist and Socialist feminists began creating working women's organizations within broader worker movements in the early 1910s. These organizers considered the needs of working women to be different to those of the feminist movements that had been developed by the bourgeoisie. Separating gender from class as a means for liberation was unthinkable for these women, and they found various levels of success within communist and socialist parties for their ideas. Marxist feminists such as Mary Inman established networks of likeminded members within these organizations that were able to lobby for women's oppression to be considered a key policy issue by the 1940s. Marxist feminist authors in the 1970s, such as Margaret Benston and Peggy Morton, relied heavily on analysis of productive and unproductive labor in an attempt to shift the perception of the time that consumption was the purpose of a family, presenting arguments for a state-paid wage to homemakers, and a cultural perception of the family as a productive entity. In capitalism, the work of maintaining a family has little material value, as it produces no marketable products. In Marxism, the maintenance of a family is productive, as it has a service value, and is used in the same sense as a commodity. To address this, Davis concludes that the "socialisation of housework – including meal preparation and child care – presupposes an end to the profit-motive's reign over the economy." In this manner, Marxist feminists argue that unquestioned domestic slavery upholds the structural inequities faced by women in all capitalist economies. Other Marxist feminist have noted the concept of domestic work for women internationally and the role it plays in buttressing global patriarchy. In Paresh Chattopadhyay's response to Custer's ''Capital Accumulation and Women's Labor in Asian Economies'', Chattopadhyay notes the ways in which Custer analyzes "women's labor in the garments industry in West Bengal and Bangladesh as well as in Bangladesh's agricultural sector, labor management methods of the Japanese industrial bourgeoisie and, finally, the mode of employment of the women laborers in Japanese industry" Many Marxist feminists have shifted their focus to the ways in which women are now potentially in worse conditions as a result of gaining access to productive labor. Nancy Folbre proposes that feminist movements begin to focus on women's subordinate status to men both in the reproductive (private) sphere, as well as in the workplace (public sphere). == Equal pay for equal labour ==

In 1977 the British feminist sociologist Veronica Beechey published 'Some Notes on Female Wage Labour', which argued that women should be understood as an unrecognised 'reserve arm of labour'. In response, Floya Anthias published 'Woman and the Reserve Army of Labour: A Critique of Veronica Beechy', to query Beechey's arguments, while also recognising that it Beechey's was "the most sophisticated and influential attempt to analyse women's wage labour by using or reconstituting the categories of Marx's Capital". In 1987 Verso published Beechey's collected essays on women's participation in labour as the book Unequal Work. Women play a crucial role in the labor force through their reproductive responsibilities. They not only give birth to children who will eventually enter the workforce but also contribute to the socialization of these children, preparing them for their future roles as workers and parents. Additionally, women provide support to current workers (often their husbands) through unpaid domestic labor. According to Marxist Feminists, these contributions are significant to the functioning of capitalism, as women's reproductive roles sustain and perpetuate the workforce. Gender divisions in the workforce create a disparity where men are primarily responsible for economic production while women are tasked with reproducing the workforce. In a capitalist society, greater value is placed on the production of goods by men than on the reproductive roles fulfilled by women. Domestic work traditionally carried out by women, such as household chores, home management, and childcare, is often not respected in a capitalist framework, as it lacks exchange value. Hence, this work is undervalued and unpaid, yet women are still expected to complete it.[6] Within the framework of Marxist Feminism, the unpaid labor of women serves as a tool of exploitation, disproportionately benefiting both men and the capitalist system as a whole. This exploitation takes many forms, such as household chores, caregiving, and emotional labor, creating an invisible yet necessary mechanism for the functioning of society. With this unpaid work, women reproduce the labor force, allowing their male counterparts and the capitalist economy to thrive. The very foundation of capitalism relies on this exploitation; without the continuous unrecognized burden of childcare and domestic responsibilities, many workers would be unable to endure the long shifts demanded by their jobs. As a result, the systemic undervaluing of women's contributions perpetuates economic inequality while ensuring that the capitalist system remains intact and operational. The Family Marxist Feminists see the family as a tool of capitalism, viewing capitalism as the key contributor to the oppression of women rather than men. This branch of feminism analyzes social and political structures to explain the institutional oppression of women rather than the individual level: the actions of men and women. Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc,[6] claims the family contributes to the oppression women in three distinct ways: • Women reproduce the workforce and socialize them into a social hierarchy • Women absorb the anger of men who are frustrated by their alienation and exploitation • Women are a reserve army of cheap labor that can be activated when they are needed and let go when no longer needed == Intersectionality and Marxist feminism ==

The emergence of intersectionality that reproduces bourgeois hierarchy. While class is considered the root cause of systemic oppression in this model, Marxist feminists may use an intersectional lens to understand how class is socially produced on a global scale. == Accomplishments and activism ==

The nature of Marxist feminists and their ability to mobilize to promote social change has enabled them to engage in important activism. Though their advocacy often receives criticism, Marxist feminists challenge capitalism in ways that facilitate new discourse and shed light on the status of women. as one of the primary developers of feminist theories across Japan. Argentinian feminist theorist and activist Verónica Gago wrote in her book, Feminist International: How to Change Everything, about the use of strikes to address femicide, abortion access, and gender-based economic hardship in Argentina through feminist movements such as Ni una menos. == Marxist feminist critiques of other branches of feminism ==

Clara Zetkin Kollontai was a prominent leader in the Bolshevik party in Russia, defending her stance on how capitalism had shaped a rather displeasing and oppressing position for women who are part of its system. She recognized and emphasized the difference between the proletariat and bourgeois women in society, though it has been expressed by Kollontai's thought that all women under a capitalist economy were those of oppression. Kollontai had a harsh stance on the feminist movement and believed feminists to be naïve in only addressing gender as the reason inequality was happening under a capitalist rule. She believed that the true issue of inequality was that of the division of classes that led to the immediate production of gender struggles, just how men in the structure of the classes shown a harsh divide as well. As capitalism is inherently for private profit, Kollontai's argument toward the eradication of women suffrage within society under a capitalist rule also delved into how women cannot and will not be abolished under a capitalist society because of the ways in which women's "free labor" has been utilized. Kollontai criticized the feminist movement as also neglecting to emphasize how the working class, while trying to care and provide for a family and being paid less than that of men, was still expected to cater to and provide for the bourgeois or upper-class women who were still oppressing the working-class women by utilizing their stereotypical type of work. Kollontai also faced harsh scrutiny in being a woman leader in a time of a male dominated political stance during the Bolshevik movement. Kollontai's most pertinent presence in feminist socialism was her stance on reproductive rights and her view on women being allowed the same luxuries that men have in finding love not only to be stable and supported, and to also be able to make their own money and be secure on their own two feet. She focused her attention on opening up society's allowance of women's liberation from a capitalist and bourgeois control and emphasizing women's suffrage in the working-class. Critics like Kollontai believed liberal feminism would undermine the efforts of Marxism to improve conditions for the working class. Marxists supported the more radical political program of liberating women through socialist revolution, with a special emphasis on work among women and in materially changing their conditions after the revolution. Additional liberation methods supported by Marxist feminists include radical "Utopian Demands", coined by Maria Mies. This indication of the scope of revolution required to promote change states that demanding anything less than complete reform will produce inadequate solutions to long-term issues. == Notable Marxist feminists ==