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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism and socialism

29 replies

KayHarker · 28/01/2011 13:31

One of the sites I used to frequent, the odious Ladies Against Feminism, is always keen to draw a negative connotation between feminism and socialism.

Personally I have no negative axe to grind about socialism, but I'm wondering if it's a true connection - I suppose I'm asking, can one be a feminist and a conservative, or does feminism lend itself much more readily to socialism?

OP posts:
AliceWorld · 28/01/2011 13:47

Depends a bit whether you mean Conservative or conservative. Conservatism contains the idea of keeping things as they are, or as they were, or more often as people like to imagine they were. So as such is not progressive. And I see being progressive as essential to feminism. But then not all Conservatives necessarily buy into that much of conservatism so then you get the whole neoliberal/new right stuff. Which for me doesn't work as it is too capitalist and individualistic which doesn't work with feminism for me either. But then I think the latter is where the intersection of feminism and socialism lies.

Personally I don't get how being right wing and feminist works. I can believe it might make sense for others. To me feminism and the left wing (not necessarily socialism though) make more sense together. Conservatism and feminism though I struggle to reconcile.

Is that Laydeez site American? They use socialist basically just to mean 'bad' a lot of the time as it has a whole different bunch of connotations there.

ISNT · 28/01/2011 13:43

Certainly a lot of the feminists on here are left leaning. However there are some notable exceptions Grin

As many have pointed out, feminists fall into line with right wing / religious / traditional leaning views when it comes to things like page 3, strip clubs and so on.

wukter · 28/01/2011 13:39

Well they're both Equality based movements, so there seems to be a natural affinity.
However I'm sure there's an argument on the right re equality of opportunity rather than outcome. However I can't even attempt to articulate that argument.

There's also the feminization of poverty that's well documented, a socialist would hopefully have a lot to say about that.

MarionCole · 28/01/2011 13:35

I expect Edwina Curry considers herself a feminist. Can't speak from personal experience though, I'm firmly in the feminist socialist bracket.