London socialist feminist discussion group - starts this Friday
Sofie Buckland | 22.05.2007 13:08 | Gender | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | London | South Coast
"No women's liberation without socialism, no socialism without women's liberation..."
Following the successful dayschool on "The case for socialist feminism" on 21st April, socialist feminist activists in London are setting up a weekly reading and discussion group on socialist feminist ideas.
Following the successful dayschool on "The case for socialist feminism" on 21st April, socialist feminist activists in London are setting up a weekly reading and discussion group on socialist feminist ideas.
Our first meeting will at 7.30pm, on Friday 25th May, in the upstairs room of the Plough, on Museum Street, WC1A 1LH (nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road).
We will be discussing the lessons that can be learnt from the German socialist women's movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The reading can be found at http://www.workersliberty.org/taxonomy/term/456 (the summarised version is entitled "German socialism and the 'women question'").
Future discussions will be on a wide variety of topics.
Feel welcome to come along on 25 May, but for more information about reading and future discussions, or if you would like to get involved and help develop the group, email Sofie at volsunga@gmail.com or ring her on 07815 490 837.
We will be discussing the lessons that can be learnt from the German socialist women's movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The reading can be found at http://www.workersliberty.org/taxonomy/term/456 (the summarised version is entitled "German socialism and the 'women question'").
Future discussions will be on a wide variety of topics.
Feel welcome to come along on 25 May, but for more information about reading and future discussions, or if you would like to get involved and help develop the group, email Sofie at volsunga@gmail.com or ring her on 07815 490 837.
Sofie Buckland
e-mail:
volsunga@gmail.com
Comments
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OK I'll say what everyone is thinking
22.05.2007 16:57
Sitting around with other ugly women discussing Socialism is not going to get you laid.
M
Congratulations
22.05.2007 16:59
Chris Tarrent
Please widen your understANDING OF SOCIALISM
23.05.2007 02:36
plaese ask germaine greer or QE2 how oppresseed they are the millionaire scum
atttempt to transcend juvenile primary school thoughts and taunts about my fannys better than your dick, et al
not a feminist
yawn
23.05.2007 11:54
won't see you on the front line.
feminist anti-rascist anti-bourgois
Sigh...
23.05.2007 12:37
Yes, of course socialism is about the emancipation of the working class as a whole. And it means recognising that class and class struggle have a structural position integral to the capitalist system in a more fundamental way than other forms of oppression and resistance to them.
But why does that mean other forms of oppression are irrelevant?
Socialists believe that only with the abolition of capitalism will it become possible to abolish all oppression. That doesn't mean saying that the oppressed simply have to wait until for the revolution, or even for large scale working-class anti-capitalist struggle, before they fight for their rights.
Try replacing "women" with "black people" in your sexist diatribe. Was the movement for black equality in 1950s and 60s America wrong because it took place in the absence of large-scale radicalisation in the white working class?
Are gay people wrong to fight for their rights? Should they just wait for the workers' movement to abolish capitalism?
Socialists should seek to integrate all struggles against oppression into the class struggle, creating something more than the some of the parts which can really win a free and equal society. Your approach is a blind alley.
Socialist feminist
blind alley
24.05.2007 02:09
please stand for your own radical feminist partyt like in sweden and see how many votes you get
you fucking freaks
not a feminist
Spotted Dick
24.05.2007 22:17
Until recently Sweden held the record for the most females in government, at 52%, which probably explains why there is less need for a radical feminist party there than here- feminism is main-stream across all the parties. Finland is the new record holder with 60%. Hardly backward countries by whatever measure you use.
Apologies to the socialist feminists, good luck with your group. There is a mysoginist here who amusingly admits to posting anti-feminist posts often under female identities, and has also admitted here to beating up a girl. He is a troll at best and should be taken seriously whether you choose to respond to him or not. He is seriously unstable, as he admits and as you can see, and far from representative of most opinion here. His name really is Dick but on the following thread he is also most of the other most offensive posters - including 'Eva'.
Danny
Homepage: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/357875.html?c=all
Dear freaks and fannies
30.05.2007 02:45
the ssp is dead
fuck germaine greer the millionaire piece of shit
fuck andrea dworkin who is pushing up daisies the fat fuck
join the swp you slimy feminist scum
i've got a knife ready for you and fridge magnet
Eva
Feminism is great
31.05.2007 03:14
What a fucking freak
Indy freak
I agree with the poster below
01.09.2007 15:34
1. Class itself is based on concrete socio-economical structures, but to some extent it is also a construct. As a construct it is influenced fundamentally by the socio-economical as well as political and cultural environment it is situated in, which means other forms of division amongst humanity, such as gender, culture, race and sexuality are inter-wined with the class issue.
2. Ultimately socialism is about trying to bring about egalitarianism in a general sense, and since class oppression is not the only form of oppression and inequality, other areas need to be addressed as well. It might be argued that "economical structures underpin other issues" and therefore class is more fundamental, but at best this is only true to some extent. Economics does not exist on the individual level, even at its most primitive it is fundamentally a social activity, and since economics is fundamentally intertwined with social issues, it is not just "economical structures" that are fundamental but actually "socio-economical structures" and therefore other areas such as gender and race are important too.
3. Socialism is about democracy. Therefore the very fact that so many women, ethnic minorities etc care so much about issues other than just class means that these issues are important, by definition.
4. In order to bring about socialism, the working classes need to be more united. Ignoring divisions based on gender, race etc and simply "wishing them away" will potentially cause problems for the entire movement.
Chenyang Li
e-mail: lightningstrike123581321@hotmail.com
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