Transcript Developing a Theory of Capitalist Patriarchy and Socialist Feminism Presented by Morgan Irving.

Developing a Theory of
Capitalist Patriarchy and
Socialist Feminism
Presented by Morgan Irving
What is the author trying to
argue?
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The difference between socialist women and
socialist feminists needs to be understood to
know the difference between radical feminism
and socialist feminists
Marx
Engels
Radical Feminists
Shulamith Firestone
Social Feminism
How does the author try to explain the
argument?
-Karl Marx
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Power or powerlessness derives from a person’s class position:
hence oppression is a result of capitalist organization and is
based in a lack of power and control.
Women were just instruments of reproduction
A person’s goal in life is to reach “species being”
 Species beings are the beings who ultimately reach their human
potential for creativity, labor, social consciousness, and social
living through the struggle against capitalist society and who fully
internalize these capacities in communist society.
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Marx used his theory of class to apply to women, but never
questioned the hierarchical sexual ordering of society. He did not see
that his criteria for “species being” made it unavailable to women and
they would never be able to reach it.
How does the author try to explain the
argument?
-Frederick Engels
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Oppression equals exploitation
Production and reproduction, giving birth, defines
the life of women
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The act of child-bearing is the source of oppression for
women.
 This is when wife and child become the slaves of the
husband
The family conceals domestic slavery and there
were no differences between domestic slavery and
the wage-slavery of the husband
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He is unwilling to see the relationship between man and
woman as anything but a mirror of the political economy.
How does the author try to explain the
argument?
Radical Feminists
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Men have power as men in a society organized into
“sexual spheres”
The sexual division of labor and society expresses
the most basic hierarhical division in our society
between masculine and feminine roles
The biological distinction of male and female is used
to distinguish social functions and individual power
Patriarchy is a sexual system of power in which the
male possesses superior power and economic
privilege
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Women’s position in this power hierarchy is defined not in
terms of the economic class structure but in terms of
patriarchal organization of society
How does the author try to explain the
argument?
-Shulamith Firestone
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Patriarchy is the oppressive system
Woman’s reproductive function is inherently
central to her oppression, therefore, making
men the dominating group.
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She refuses to view women’s oppression as a
more complex subject than women’s sexuality
being the source.
With her theory, women can never escape
oppression because women will always be the
ones who give birth
How does the author try to explain the
argument?
-Social Feminism
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Analyzes power in terms of its class origins and its
patriarchal roots
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The assembly of sex roles may differ throughout the
world, but power has and does reside with the male
Capitalism is a result of patriarchy
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Race falls outside of the diagnosis
The nuclear family gives males the power of sexual roles
through capitalism
Reproduction is a form of women’s oppression, but
cannot be the sole reason.
Social Feminism Continued…
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Women stabilize patriarchal structures (the family,
housewife, mother, etc.) by fulfilling these roles
Women are reproducing new workers for both the
paid and unpaid labor force. They care for the men
and children of the society
Women work as well in the labor force for lesser
wages
Women stabilize the economy through their role as
consumers
Does the author assume the “white
middle-class woman’s norm”?
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No. The author referenced theories that
examined capitalism and used its stance on
society, which would be white men. The
author briefly did mention other countries and
the women’s role there.
Strengths
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Multiple theories were presented and well
explained
The strengths and weaknesses were pointed
out in all of these theories
Showed that women were not completely
liberated yet, but steps to fix the problem
Weaknesses
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Only the radical feminist and social feminism
theories were from the 20th century
More theories and no personal accounts to
see the proof
How to Change Society….
Diversity Training Manual
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Understand what class means to women
Define classes in terms of woman’s complex
realities (housewife, mother, employee, etc.) and her
consciousness of that reality
View women as an autonomous being
Make distinctions of the type of women’s work within
the economy
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Working women outside the home
Housewives
Welfare women
Unemployed women
Wealthy women who do not work at all