Marxist feminism is a philosophical variant of feminism that incorporates and extends Marxist theory. Marxist feminism analyzes the ways in which women are exploited through capitalism and the individual ownership of private property. Marxist feminists extend traditional Marxist analysis by applying it to unpaid domestic labor and sex relations.

Because of its foundation in historical materialism, Marxist feminism is similar to socialist feminism and, to a greater degree, materialist feminism. The latter two place greater emphasis on what they consider the "reductionist limitations" of Marxist theory but, as Martha E. Gimenez These organizers considered the needs of working women to be different to those of the feminist movements that had been developed by the bourgeoisie. Separating gender from class as a means for liberation was unthinkable for these women, and they found various levels of success within communist and socialist parties for their ideas. Marxist feminists such as Mary Inman established networks of likeminded members within these organizations that were able to lobby for women's oppression to be considered a key policy issue by the 1940s.

Marxist feminist authors in the 1970s, such as Margaret Benston and Peggy Morton, relied heavily on analysis of productive and unproductive labor in an attempt to shift the perception of the time that consumption was the purpose of a family, presenting arguments for a state-paid wage to homemakers, and a cultural perception of the family as a productive entity. In capitalism, the work of maintaining a family has little material value, as it produces no marketable products. In Marxism, the maintenance of a family is productive, as it has a service value, and is used in the same sense as a commodity. To address this, Davis concludes that the "socialisation of housework – including meal preparation and child care – presupposes an end to the profit-motive's reign over the economy." In this manner, Marxist feminists argue that unquestioned domestic slavery upholds the structural inequities faced by women in all capitalist economies.

Other Marxist feminist have noted the concept of domestic work for women internationally and the role it plays in buttressing global patriarchy. In Paresh Chattopadhyay's response to Custer's Capital Accumulation and Women's Labor in Asian Economies, Chattopadhyay notes the ways in which Custer analyzes "women's labor in the garments industry in West Bengal and Bangladesh as well as in Bangladesh's agricultural sector, labor management methods of the Japanese industrial bourgeoisie and, finally, the mode of employment of the women laborers in Japanese industry"

Many Marxist feminists have shifted their focus to the ways in which women are now potentially in worse conditions as a result of gaining access to productive labor. Nancy Folbre proposes that feminist movements begin to focus on women's subordinate status to men both in the reproductive (private) sphere, as well as in the workplace (public sphere).

Equal pay for equal labour

In 1977 the British feminist sociologist Veronica Beechey published 'Some Notes on Female Wage Labour', which argued that women should be understood as an unrecognised 'reserve arm of labour'. In response, Floya Anthias published 'Woman and the Reserve Army of Labour: A Critique of Veronica Beechy', to query Beechey's arguments, while also recognising that it Beechey's was "the most sophisticated and influential attempt to analyse women's wage labour by using or reconstituting the categories of Marx's Capital". In 1987 Verso published Beechey's collected essays on women's participation in labour as the book Unequal Work.

Women play a crucial role in the labor force through their reproductive responsibilities. They not only give birth to children who will eventually enter the workforce but also contribute to the socialization of these children, preparing them for their future roles as workers and parents. Additionally, women provide support to current workers (often their husbands) through unpaid domestic labor. According to Marxist Feminists, these contributions are significant to the functioning of capitalism, as women's reproductive roles sustain and perpetuate the workforce. Gender divisions in the workforce create a disparity where men are primarily responsible for economic production while women are tasked with reproducing the workforce. In a capitalist society, greater value is placed on the production of goods by men than on the reproductive roles fulfilled by women. Domestic work traditionally carried out by women, such as household chores, home management, and childcare, is often not respected in a capitalist framework, as it lacks exchange value. Hence, this work is undervalued and unpaid, yet women are still expected to complete it.<sup><nowiki>[6</nowiki>]</sup>

Within the framework of Marxist Feminism, the unpaid labor of women serves as a tool of exploitation, disproportionately benefiting both men and the capitalist system as a whole. This exploitation takes many forms, such as household chores, caregiving, and emotional labor, creating an invisible yet necessary mechanism for the functioning of society. With this unpaid work, women reproduce the labor force, allowing their male counterparts and the capitalist economy to thrive. The very foundation of capitalism relies on this exploitation; without the continuous unrecognized burden of childcare and domestic responsibilities, many workers would be unable to endure the long shifts demanded by their jobs. As a result, the systemic undervaluing of women's contributions perpetuates economic inequality while ensuring that the capitalist system remains intact and operational.

The Family

Marxist Feminists see the family as a tool of capitalism, viewing capitalism as the key contributor to the oppression of women rather than men. This branch of feminism analyzes social and political structures to explain the institutional oppression of women rather than the individual level: the actions of men and women.

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc,<sup><nowiki>[6</nowiki>]</sup> claims the family contributes to the oppression women in three distinct ways:

  • Women reproduce the workforce and socialize them into a social hierarchy
  • Women absorb the anger of men who are frustrated by their alienation and exploitation
  • Women are a reserve army of cheap labor that can be activated when they are needed and let go when no longer needed

Intersectionality and Marxist feminism

The emergence of intersectionality that reproduces bourgeois hierarchy. While class is considered the root cause of systemic oppression in this model, Marxist feminists may use an intersectional lens to understand how class is socially produced on a global scale.

Accomplishments and activism

The nature of Marxist feminists and their ability to mobilize to promote social change has enabled them to engage in important activism. Though their advocacy often receives criticism, Marxist feminists challenge capitalism in ways that facilitate new discourse and shed light on the status of women. as one of the primary developers of feminist theories across Japan. Argentinian feminist theorist and activist Verónica Gago wrote in her book, Feminist International: How to Change Everything

Kollontai was a prominent leader in the Bolshevik party in Russia, defending her stance on how capitalism had shaped a rather displeasing and oppressing position for women who are part of its system. She recognized and emphasized the difference between the proletariat and bourgeois women in society, though it has been expressed by Kollontai's thought that all women under a capitalist economy were those of oppression. Kollontai had a harsh stance on the feminist movement and believed feminists to be naïve in only addressing gender as the reason inequality was happening under a capitalist rule. She believed that the true issue of inequality was that of the division of classes that led to the immediate production of gender struggles, just how men in the structure of the classes shown a harsh divide as well.

As capitalism is inherently for private profit, Kollontai's argument toward the eradication of women suffrage within society under a capitalist rule also delved into how women cannot and will not be abolished under a capitalist society because of the ways in which women's "free labor" has been utilized. Kollontai criticized the feminist movement as also neglecting to emphasize how the working class, while trying to care and provide for a family and being paid less than that of men, was still expected to cater to and provide for the bourgeois or upper-class women who were still oppressing the working-class women by utilizing their stereotypical type of work. Kollontai also faced harsh scrutiny in being a woman leader in a time of a male dominated political stance during the Bolshevik movement. Kollontai's most pertinent presence in feminist socialism was her stance on reproductive rights and her view on women being allowed the same luxuries that men have in finding love not only to be stable and supported, and to also be able to make their own money and be secure on their own two feet.

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Further reading

::Cited in:

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::* Federici, S. B. (2014). Caliban and the witch (2nd rev. ed). New York: Autonomedia.

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::* Marxist & Materialist Feminism – The Feminist eZine. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.feministezine.com/feminist/philosophy/Marxist-Materialist-Feminism.html

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::* Hennessy, R., & Ingraham, C. (1997). Materialist Feminism: A reader in Class, Difference, and Women's lives. Routledge.

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::* Gago, V. (2020). Feminist international: How to change everything. Verso Books.

  • Marxism, Liberalism, And Feminism (Leftist Legal Thought) New Delhi, Serials (2010) by Dr.Jur. Eric Engle LL.M.
  • Proletarian Feminism
  • Marxist Feminism
  • Feminism of the Anti-Capitalist Left by Lidia Cirillo