Global Communism Global 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 ( )  Organized and educated  Encouraged public and professional roles Male 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 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, 1949 French philosopher-restarted movement which had died down after the vote Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963 American author--called attention to middle-class women who felt unfulfilled Women’s Liberation, more radical movement protested 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