What Is Marxist Feminism?

Marxist feminism is a branch of feminist theory which argues that the main cause
of women’s oppression is capitalism.

This type of feminism is based on the understandings of Marxism, proposed by

Karl Marx and collaborator Friedrich Engels in the 19th century. Marx
demonstrated how capitalism was able to grow through the exploitation of labor.

Social classes were described to explain how one class controls the other as a
means to produce goods. People who are of a high-class level of economic
condition are the bourgeoise, whereas people who are of a low-class level are
claimed as the proletariat since they become the labors of the bourgeoise (Marx &
Engels, 1848).

Marxist feminists regard classism, rather than sexism, as the fundamental cause
of women’s oppression. They explore how ideas of gender structure production in
capitalism and argue that women are exploited by a capitalist society.

While some Marxist themes may not be as relevant today, Marxist feminists can
still be used to explore how the political economy is gendered in late-stage
capitalism and how the social reproduction of people and communities renews
capitalism (Armstrong, 2020).

The Key Issues According To

Marxist Feminism
The main view of Marxist feminists is that the traditional nuclear family only
came about with capitalism. They believe that the traditional role of the
housewife- who does not have paid employment and resides in the home
completing domestic tasks- supports capitalism.

Marxist feminists claim that while the proletariat are oppressed through the

capitalist system, women are double oppressed through capitalism as well as
through the nuclear family.

Women’s oppression is thought to support capitalism in multiple ways, which are

detailed below:
Women reproduce the labor force
In a capitalist society, women are expected to reproduce children. These children
will then grow up to be the next generation of workers and mothers.

Women are also socializing the next generation of workers and ‘servicing’ the
current workers (their husbands) with their unpaid domestic labor. Thus, women
are supporting capitalism through their own means of reproduction, according to
Marxist feminists.

Unpaid domestic labor of women

Marxist feminists claim that there is a division of labor between men and women:
men are assigned economic production, whereas women have been assigned
reproduction of the workforce.

In a capitalist society, more value is given to the production of material goods by

men, than the reproduction of people by women.

Domestic work which is usually carried out by women include household chores,
house management, and childcare. This labor is not respected in capitalist society
since there is no exchange value. It is, therefore, devalued, and unpaid but
expected to be done, nonetheless.

Marxist feminists explain that the unpaid labor of women is a way to exploit
them. It is done for free, and it benefits both men and the capitalist system.

Capitalism would not exist without this unpaid labor because workers would not
be able to work all day if they also had to take care of their children and the house
(Cottais, 2020).

Women are a reserve of cheap labor

Since the primary role of women in a capitalist society is in unpaid domestic
labor, they were usually restricted from working a paid job. However, women are
used as a reserve, to be taken on temporarily when required by the bourgeois.

This was observable during the World Wars when most men were sent away to
fight. When the men were away, many women were enrolled in the work that they
would have otherwise not been allowed to do (Grayzel, 2013).
However, the women would have been paid less than the men and many would
have had to return to their unpaid domestic duties once the men returned from
war.

Women take on emotional labor

While not directly creating any produce or service, Marxist feminists claim that
women must provide emotional labor under a capitalist society. This refers to the
labor that is involved in keeping family members emotionally stable, so they can
work efficiently.

The partners of the women may be understandably frustrated by the exploitation

they experience by the bourgeois and women are often expected to absorb this
frustration which may result in domestic violence.

How Was Marxist Feminism

Developed?
Although Marxist theory was not initially focused on women’s issues, it was
realized that under a capitalist system, women were exploited by not being paid
for the reproductive and emotional labor they were involved in.

Eleanor Marx, daughter of Karl Marx, is thought to be one of Marxist feminism’s

pioneers in England in the 19th century among others such as Rosa Luxembourg.

During the suffrage movement in the early 20th century, class systems were
considered when working-class women forged their own movement for the right
to vote alongside white middle-class women.

It was not until the 1960s and 70s when Marxist feminism became particularly
popular, resounding the most with women of the time. Marxist feminism is
thought to have arisen in reaction to liberal feminism, whose fight failed to go
beyond equal rights.

Marxist feminists argue that legal liberation is not enough to free women since it
does nothing to abolish the patriarchy in social relations (Cottais, 2020).
A few of the key women who contributed to the development of Marxist feminism
as a theory are Chizuko Ueno, Anuradha Ghandy, Claudia Jones, and Angela
Davis.
What Are The Goals Of Marxist
Feminism?
Abolish capitalism
The main goal of Marxist feminists is to abolish capitalism. Through this, they
believe that patriarchy itself can be tackled. Overthrowing the existing economic
system is thought to liberate women.

Since capitalism is at the root of inequality and patriarchy is a product of

capitalism, removing this system should eliminate gender inequalities.

A classless society
Instead of capitalism, Marxist feminists advocate for a classless, communist
society. Through a classless society, both the upper-class and working-class
people will be treated equally.

Other solutions can be proposed such as reevaluating the reproductive work

through the collectivism of domestic work and childcare.

The vision of Marx and Engels was to ensure that there was a collective
ownership and the basic dignity of women in society, thus the domestic duties
will be shared equally between partners.

More women in the public sphere

Since women’s exclusion from paid work makes them more oppressed, a way to
combat this is to integrate women into paid work and the public sphere. This
includes ensuring that women are paid equal wages to men and are offered the
same opportunities if they have the necessary qualifications.

Marxist feminists do not generally seek to exclude men from feminist struggles,
in fact, they often want to avoid separation between the sexes for fear of fueling a
class division (Cottais, 2020).
Valuing domestic labor
Marxist feminists do not necessarily disagree that domestic labor should be
ignored. Likewise, if a woman chooses to not work and instead take care of the
household and children, then they should be free to do so. However, Marxist
feminists wish for domestic labor to be as valued as reproductive labor.

For domestic labor to be fairly valued, Marxist feminists argue that women
should be paid for domestic work. Being paid for this work puts an economic
value on what is still largely considered women’s work.

Control over reproductive rights

If women have more reproductive rights and more of a choice as to whether to be
a parent, they have more choice as to their role in society. Capitalist societies see
women’s main job as to be a mother and nothing else.

So, if women realize they have a choice as to whether to go down this path, they
can feel more liberated to do what they want to do.

Theory of domination 
The Theory of Domination was developed by Max Weber which aimed to analyze
the theory and concept of Capitalism using the concept of Domination. He had
defined domination as a regime under which there is a person or a group of
persons who rule over a particular group of people with an aim to influence and
impose their will upon them. Further, there is also an emphasis upon a
systematic administrative structure to impose the will of the rulers in case the
people in that given area are huge in number. This administrative control is also
a form of domination.

According to Max Weber, this domination or authority relationship can have

either of the two outcomes:

1) It could lead to resistance or revolution on the part of the people when they
are not ready to accept the authority of the leader or,

2) People will develop a belief in the authority of the leader thereby making it
legitimate and leading to stability in the authority relationship.
Legitimate domination
The concept of legitimate domination is focused on the acceptance of authority
or commands by a group of people. Max Weber under this pointed out that
greater the acceptance more would be the dominance on the part of the ruler.
He stated three pure types of Legitimate Domination that are a testimony to the
validity of the Legitimacy claims.

Traditional authority
It refers to the authority in which people have had the belief from time
immemorial and the legitimacy of the people who have been exercising the
domination under those traditions. In India for example, the caste system was
being followed in which the brahmins had the authority or spiritual leadership
over the people from lower castes. This is being followed to this date due to
which it is known as traditional authority. It further has three major subtypes
which include: 

a) Patriarchalism: It refers to the Master’s authority over the entire household

including women, children, and slaves due to the belief in the superiority of the
physical and mental energies of males in the family.

b) Patrimonialism: Under this system, domination is because of the fulfillment of

personal rights by an individual. This system aims to develop an administrative
system that is a personal instrument of the ruler.

c) Estatism: This form of traditional authority plays a vital role in explaining

gender domination and the authority of the males over females owing to their
perception of superiority. When the administrative members have been
appointed by the ruler, there might be status differentiation among them. As a
result, there might be an irrational distribution of powers or economic assets
among them. 

Charismatic authority
Under this form of authority, people obey the commands owing to the charisma
or personality of the leader which leads to their acceptance among the
followers. In other words, the master imposes his/her will over the others
because of their character which makes them a God-like figure owing to which
people develop a belief over their legitimate authority. 
Legal authority
In this form, an individual has the authority granted to him/her through the
various social rules and regulations under a given law. No one could question
upon such authority because the person would be legally authorized to carry out
a particular act. For example, in the current times, the Chief Minister of any
state has the authority under the law to head the Council of Ministers of the
State, and no person can question that. This source of authority can hence be
found in any bureaucratic setup.

These were the three types of legitimate authority as defined by Max Weber. His
theory of domination was successful in partially answering the questions that
the Marxist Theory of Feminism failed to address.

Strengths And Criticisms Of

Marxist Feminism
Strengths
Marxist feminism has shone a light on how women are oppressed by a capitalist
society. Attention has been drawn to the intersection of capitalism and patriarchy
and the importance of taking both class and gender into consideration in feminist
demands.

It considers how some previous feminist movements may have been more
focused on the rights of middle-class or upper-class women, with working-class
women being ignored or forgotten in history.

Marxist feminism can also highlight how working-class women are not only
subservient to men, but often to wealthy women.
More women and men recognize that there is often an imbalance in the share of
household and childcare responsibilities.

This awareness means that couples can discuss and come to agreements as to
how to split the duties. Many more men take on an active role in the household
which can allow their partners to relax or to work on their career.
Likewise, people in relationships can start to be more aware of whether they are
unwillingly doing more of the domestic duties. If someone’s partner is not willing
to take on more of the unpaid labor and this is making them unhappy, then they
can consider whether this is the person they want to spend their life with.

Ultimately, more people can find a partner who suits their lifestyle and do not
have to settle for someone who is not helpful or supportive.

Criticisms
A main criticism of Marxist feminism is that women’s oppression is thought to
have been prevalent in the family system before capitalism existed.

Therefore, it is doubtful whether men would suddenly stop exploiting women in a

classless society.
In fact, sexism and oppression of women can still be found in communist political
parties, trade unions, and left-wing militant structures.

As such, viewing Marxism as a condition for women’s liberation ignores sexism

as a whole and may only deal with a small percentage of the wider issue.
Marxist feminism has focused heavily on the intersection of class and gender but
initially did not always incorporate the intersection of race, sexuality, or disability
alongside these issues.

A black woman in a mostly white capitalist society, for instance, would be

oppressed because of being a woman, but also for being black. Angela Davis
discusses the intersection of race on Marxist feminism in her book ‘Women,
Race, & Class’ (1981).

Marxist feminism may also be criticized as not being relevant in today’s society.
Since more women have the opportunity to work and have the choice as to
whether to bear children, they are not necessarily restricted to being a traditional
housewife, unless this is what they choose to do.

Thus, many aspects of Marxist feminism may now be outdated.