Global CommunismGlobal Feminism

Odds and Ends

Internationalism

Communism was a global phenomenon They were antinationalist Some western countries even had

communist parties that ran candidates for election

Despite this, communist countries began to act like typical states and conflicts broke out between communist countries as well

Communist feminism

USSR: enacted reforms= full citizenship, equal rights, better access to divorce/abortion

Zhenotdel= Soviet Women’s Department (1919-30) Organized and educated Encouraged public and professional rolesMale party members resented this and Stalin

closed the organization in ‘30

Communist feminism

CCP= “Women can do anything” Reforms: 1950 Marriage Law (direct attack on

Confucian patriarchy) Party got more women to play an active role

outside the home The slogan above--1960--urged women to pursue

all professions****despite some major gains, the family structure

wasn’t reformed much and often both Soviet and Chinese women had a double burden

Feminism and the West

Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1949French philosopher-restarted movement which had died down after the vote

Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963American author--called attention to middle-class women who felt unfulfilled

Women’s Liberation, more radical movementprotested symbols, rituals and practices of patriarchy (beauty pageants and products)

--women are not merely sex objects

Women of Color and feminism

For many women of color, especially those living in poverty felt this mainstream debate was within a white family and did not speak to their concerns of race/class in addition to gender

Feminists from Global South criticized Western feminism as a product of its culture ==too focused on individualism and sexuality not on cultural identity, motherhood,and material issues of poverty

---many of these Global South women were part of groups with other issues such as against repressive dictatorships

International feminism

“Women’s rights are human rights” UN convention to eliminate discrimination

against women, 2006 There remain many divisions within the

movement

related to issues of religion and culture

also a reactionary backlash in certain areas

Malala