6.2 Marxist feminist critiques of capitalism and patriarchy

Marxist feminism argues capitalism and patriarchy work together to oppress women. It says we can't separate economic exploitation from gender inequality. This view challenges the idea that women can achieve true freedom within the current system.

The theory goes beyond just wanting equal pay or more women CEOs. It calls for a total overhaul of how our economy and society work. Marxist feminists say we need to rethink unpaid housework, childcare, and how jobs are divided between men and women.

Marxist Feminist Perspective on Capitalism and Patriarchy

Interconnected Systems of Oppression

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• Marxist feminism posits capitalism and patriarchy mutually reinforce each other to exploit and subordinate women
• Capitalist mode of production relies on and perpetuates patriarchal social relations to maintain control over women's labor and reproductive capacities
• Nuclear family structure under capitalism serves as a key site for women's oppression reinforcing gender roles and unpaid domestic labor
• Social reproduction concept highlights how women's unpaid domestic and care work sustains the capitalist workforce (childcare, eldercare, housework)
• Women's liberation requires dismantling both capitalist economic structures and patriarchal social relations simultaneously
• Theory critiques liberal feminism for focusing solely on gender equality within existing capitalist system without addressing its fundamental exploitative nature

Critique of Liberal Feminism and Emphasis on Economic Restructuring

• Marxist feminism emphasizes economic restructuring as essential for women's liberation
• Liberal feminist goals (equal pay, workplace discrimination laws) viewed as insufficient for addressing root causes of oppression
• Advocates for systemic changes to economic organization (collective ownership of means of production, socialization of domestic labor)
• Critiques "lean in" feminism for promoting individual advancement within capitalist structures
• Emphasizes solidarity among working-class women across racial and national lines
• Proposes alternative economic models (worker cooperatives, community-based care systems) to challenge capitalist exploitation

Critique of Gendered Labor Division Under Capitalism

Socially Constructed Labor Division

• Marxist feminists argue gendered division of labor is socially constructed and maintained by capitalist and patriarchal interests
• Capitalism benefits from unpaid domestic labor predominantly performed by women reproducing workforce at minimal cost to employers
• Theory critiques devaluation of traditionally feminine occupations and wage gap as manifestations of capitalist exploitation intersecting with gender discrimination
• "Double burden" or "second shift" concept emphasizes women's unpaid domestic labor in addition to paid employment
• Gendered division of labor in workplace reinforces gender stereotypes and limits women's economic opportunities and autonomy
• Globalization and neoliberal policies have intensified exploitation of women workers particularly in Global South (outsourcing, feminization of labor in export processing zones)

Specific Labor Practices and Their Impact

• Analyzes part-time and flexible work arrangements as disproportionately affecting women (reduced benefits, job security)
• Examines gender segregation in occupations (nursing, teaching) leading to lower wages and prestige
• Critiques unpaid internships and volunteer work as exploiting women's labor under guise of "experience"
• Highlights exploitation in informal economy (domestic workers, street vendors) where women are overrepresented
• Analyzes impact of technological changes on women's work (platform economy, gig work)
• Examines reproductive labor market (surrogacy, egg donation) as commodification of women's bodies under capitalism

Women's Oppression and Class Oppression

Intersection of Gender and Class Exploitation

• Marxist feminists contend gender oppression cannot be fully understood without considering its relationship to class exploitation under capitalism
• Origins of women's oppression traced to development of private property and class-based societies (Engels' work on family)
• Theory critiques notion of universal women's experience emphasizing how class differences create distinct forms of oppression among women
• Intersection of gender and class analyzed to show how working-class women face compounded exploitation in workplace and home
• Liberal feminist goals of equality within capitalist system viewed as insufficient for addressing class-based roots of women's oppression
• True women's liberation proposed to be achievable only through socialist revolution abolishing class distinctions and restructuring economic relations

Historical and Contemporary Examples

• Analyzes historical examples of women's labor exploitation (textile mill girls in Industrial Revolution, women in war industries)
• Examines contemporary issues like feminization of poverty and overrepresentation of women in low-wage service sector jobs
• Critiques "glass ceiling" concept for focusing on elite women while ignoring "sticky floor" issues facing working-class women
• Analyzes impact of austerity measures and welfare reform on working-class women (reduced social services, increased unpaid care work)
• Examines role of women in labor movements and socialist organizations (women garment workers' strikes, women in Russian Revolution)
• Critiques "pink-collar" ghettos in professions (human resources, public relations) as reinforcing gendered division of labor within middle class

Marxist Feminist Expansion of Traditional Theory

Incorporating Gender into Marxist Analysis

• Marxist feminists have critiqued traditional Marxism for inadequate attention to gender issues and specific forms of oppression faced by women
• Theory expanded Marx's concept of productive labor to include reproductive and domestic labor highlighting its crucial role in sustaining capitalist system
• "Patriarchal capitalism" concept developed to emphasize interconnected nature of class and gender oppression
• More nuanced understanding of exploitation developed by analyzing how gender, race, and class intersect within capitalist systems
• Concept of alienation expanded to include specific ways women are alienated from their bodies, sexuality, and reproductive capacities under capitalism
• Traditional Marxist concepts of historical materialism reformulated to incorporate gender relations as fundamental aspect of social and economic development

Theoretical Contributions and Key Thinkers

• Silvia Federici's work on primitive accumulation and witch hunts as gendered process of capitalist development
• Mariarosa Dalla Costa's analysis of housework as productive labor essential to capital accumulation
• Selma James' "wages for housework" campaign highlighting value of domestic labor
• Angela Davis' intersectional analysis of race, gender, and class in capitalist exploitation
• Nancy Fraser's critique of "progressive neoliberalism" and co-optation of feminist ideas by capitalism
• Lise Vogel's social reproduction theory integrating gender into Marxist analysis of labor power