num_pages: 150
description: An accessible introduction to the relationship between the workers movement and the womens movement this book investigates the questions Why does gender inequality exist? and How does it relate to capitalism? Historical examples range from the mid-19th century to the 1970s and include events debates and key personalities from China Russia the United States France Italy Spain and Britain. It shows time and again the controversial often difficult relationship between feminism and Marxism. The theoretical questions discussed include the origins of womens oppression domestic labor dual systems theory performativity and differentialism. Womens oppression is a structural element of the division of labor and one of the direct factors through which capitalism not only reinforces its ideological domination but also organizes the exploitation and reproduction of labor. The integration of patriarchal relations and capitalism has led to their radical transformationin the family in terms of womens place in production in sexual relations and with respect to sexual identity. Marxism needs to probe complex processes: ongoing transformations and crises a global context creating an increasingly feminized workforce and changing relations between men and women. The book maintains that it is a mistake to submerge gender into class or to believe that freedom from exploitation automatically brings about womens liberation and the ending of sexual roles; it is equally wrong is to think the class question can be removed and gender made the main enemy.
language: English
title: Dangerous Liaisons: The Marriages and Divorces of Marxism and Feminism
publisher: Merlin Press