Socialist Feminism

Socialist feminism was created when socialist theories were combined with those of the second wave feminists of the 1960s and 1970s. The focus is socialist in the respect that it concentrates on how capitalism, the class system, and the resulting patriarchy have worked to oppress women. Through an end to capitalist economics and a redistribution of wealth, socialist feminists argue that equality on a large scale could be achieved, and that a significant part of this would be the empowerment of women—something Karl Marx included in [Page 1304]his writings under the oppression of the working class in general, but did not address in great detail. The movement aligns itself with the rest of the women's liberation movement by also acknowledging that women are oppressed by forces that are cultural as well as social, not exclusively economic.

The movement is considered a new combination of ideas and approaches by some. Some socialist feminists argue that the industrialism that has come with international capitalism created a new role for women, and therefore a unique kind of female oppression that deserves separate attention from other, historical patriarchal female oppression. Whereas women may have been oppressed because they were confined to domestic matters and childbearing in the past, their new roles in the working class provide new opportunities for them to be oppressed and exploited.

Others draw on and interpret older Marxist writings, such as Women under Socialism by August Bebel, or Frederick Engels's Origin of the Family or Private Property and the State to claim an inherent connection between oppression based on both class and gender. How sufficiently the Marxists addressed feminist concerns continues to be a matter of debate.

There are also activists who see feminist values as a part of socialism from the beginning, even before the writings of socialists such as Marx and Engel. Generally, all socialist feminists work toward class and gender equality, whether they see them as two closely related issues, or one general concern.

While many argue that socialism and feminism have gone hand in hand for some time, the socialist feminist movement is generally seen as blossoming in the company of the civil rights, women's lib, labor, and anti-war movements of the 1960s and the 1970s. Radical Women, formed in 1967, is the oldest socialist feminist group in the United States; they also have branches in Australia and El Salvador. While not exclusively a socialist feminist organization, the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) was formed in 1966 when members split ideologically from the U.S. Socialist Workers' Party. The split occurred in the interest of members pursuing a more overtly revolutionary feminist path. The FSP works in close conjunction with Radical Women, and publishes a newsletter, the Freedom Socialist. Notable socialist feminist Clara Fraser cofounded both organizations. Another notable figure, Gloria Martin, joined the FSP in 1966 and cofounded Radical Women with Fraser in 1967.

In 1972, the Hyde Park Chapter of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union published a socialist feminist manifesto titled Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for the Women's Movement. In 1975, several groups and collectives came together, including Radical Women, the Lexington Socialist Feminist Union, the New American Movement Women's Caucus, and the Chicago Women's Liberation Union, to organize the Socialist Feminist Conference, held in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in July of that year. The conference was planned as a call to unify the different women's liberation movements that were gaining strength and numbers at the time.

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