do i need to say lighthearted here?

Lass- do you think that you should be a self determining individual with equal rights in all areas; social, economic and political?

I wasn't offering myself as a liberal feminist. It was an example of some one who is not a feminist , radical or otherwise , but who can still see what is wrong with prostitution.

Given that being opposed to legalising prostitution is, according to those who support it, now the preserve of radical feminists and the religious right I would have thought it might be helpful to be aware of support from someone who is neither. Apparently not.

"I'm happy living in a secular, liberal, capitalist economy and would not want either as a woman or a person to change that."

But capitalism is bad for women. Capitalism benefits from patriarchy for all sorts of reasons. I'm not a Marxist, but I am a socialist and I can see a lot of overlap between the two movements.

It's perfectly possible to be a liberal feminist and be opposed to prostitution. However I think many liberal feminists regard sex work in a pragmatic, capitalist way rather than an idealistic "political" way. iYSWIM.

There are people wh call themselves sex positive feminists who are very much in favour of prostitution. They are the sort of feminists men tend to like best.........

Lass, I am quite sure most of us want more women to be interested in, you know, the actual liberation of women.

Not just a thing that is called feminism.

"Drumming up support" by watering down feminism until it is not recognizable as feminism any more is what liberal feminists are doing, and doing quite well.
As we talk about radical feminism here, I see no point in trying to do the same thing.

Presumably squdzin wants more women to be interested in feminism? if so aligning it with Marxism seems, to me, an odd way to drum up support.

And your point? Do I have to proclaim "I am a feminist" before being allowed to have an opinion on prostitution or Marxism? Both bad ideas.

Feminism and Marxism are very close allies and absolutely should work together

I would struggle to find a statement more designed to put most people off being interested in feminism (and not just because on reading it the unedifying image of orange Tommy Sheridan popped in to my head)

I'm happy living in a secular, liberal, capitalist economy and would not want either as a woman or a person to change that.

I can't recall who queried whether it is possible to be a liberal feminist (whatever that might be) andbe opposed to prostitution. I am opposed to legalising prostitution as I consider it incompatible with human dignity and it debases and degrades all concerned.

Easy peasy vulva cakes here if you need them.

Memories of Brownie cooking will never be the same again.

With regards to the problems between Marxism and Feminism, the original approach by the Bolsheviks to promote equality of the sexes was to abandon the traditional family entirely and raise children in collective state run nurseries. The idea collapsed in the face of the social backlash and material limitations.

Well I do look like a radfem cliche but apparently I identify with liberal feminism. Im not a grocer or a baker so I'm not sure what I can bring to the party, coffee?

@Onahorsewithnoname: Could you elaborate on this? Do you feel feminism and extended breastfeeding exclude each other?

I don't think that should be the case. I think the work environment needs to be changed to fit the needs of women, not the other way round.

I don't have any dungarees or DMs, I do have several pairs of biker boots though - proper ones, not those trendy, flimsy articles that have been in recently. Are they okay? (They would be great for stomping zombies should the apocalypse happen, at which point I suppose I would become a zombie-stomping-rad-fem).

Yes, you need feminism to make Marxism work. But on it's own, feminism it a single issue. A sub-set of an overall aim.

Lived examples of communism that we have to reference have never been truly "Marxist" in practise. Only totalitarianist.

Feminism and Marxism are very close allies and absolutely should work together.

I really struggle to sort out some of my thoughts on this, I have, later in life come to motherhood and have a small farm.
The absolutes I felt as a young woman have got blurred, I know I'm an old hippy at my core and my feelings about attachment parenting and extended breastfeeding just swing a sledgehammer at my other beliefs.

With one point between them, I am women of color then radical feminist, then 6 points less running neck and neck are socialist and liberal feminist.
Well that's sorted then, could I please have a cupcake, with or without vulva

Considering the present state of things, I would wager that rad fems are more feminist than libfems.
I suppose one could be a lib fem (as in, believe society at large can remain the same) and still be against prostitution, etc, but that is now what is reflected in the lib fem media, not the English language ones, at least.

My results in the test are an odd mix, probably because I said that, yes, I do think the government should do more for equal rights, and legislation is a good way to improve things, while also agreeing that completely changing the system could work. And capitalism is probably to blame, too.

squidzin; I have read feminist theory that proposes that, actually, Marxism cannot work without feminism, as women are the original oppressed class (exploited for reproduction) and as long as women remain oppressed, the rest of capitalism will self-repair.

Considering what happened to countries that didn't make women's liberation their first priority in their Marxism, I find this theory rather plausible. It would at least explain why that communism thing never really worked.

I'm Liberal/Rad. Seems an odd combination.