Marxism, a Feminist Utopia Essay - 1266 Words

The Bolshevik rule revolutionized reproductive rights by becoming the first country in the world to legalize abortion in 1920. Less a proclamation of women’s right to control their own body than a health measure in order to reduce mortality due to illegal abortions, this policy was revolutionary. Not only was abortion legal but often free. A shortage in raw material, here rubber, explained why condoms and diaphragms were inaccessible to most women: â€Å"Condoms and diaphragms [†¦] were almost impossible to get [†¦] because of the shortage of rubber† (Clements, Engel and Worobec 1991). Nevertheless, several polls conducted in both cities and villages suggest that most women used some kind of birth control. The most common seemed to have been†¦show more content†¦IV. Professional sphere+access to education Reproductive rights and daycare became capital in soviet society as more and more women were entering the workforce and receiving an education. The direct influence of the early Soviet Rule on women’s employment was modest as the foundations for the professionalization of women had been laid on decades before the October 1917 Revolution. Furthermore, the two World Wars greatly impacted women employment by opening up new fields for them. The Industrial Revolution of the end of the nineteenth century marked the first massive entry of women in the industrial workforce. Indeed, they provided â€Å"an inexpensive supply of unskilled labor† (Lapidus 1978). Women primarily worked in the industry, with an emphasis on textile and garments which were respectively 68% and 80% women dominated fields in 1932, (Heitlinger 1979). Women also represented the majority of â€Å"education, sciences and scientifical services† employees, representing between 54% and 58% of the labor force between 1929 and 1940 (Sacks 1977). World War I by draining young able-bodied men emptied factories and gave the opportunity to women to access male dominated fields (â€Å"from 26.6 percent of the workforce in 1914, the proportion of women in the industry as a whole rose to 43.2% by 1917† (Engel 2004)). The predominance of women in education can beShow MoreRelatedLiterary Review of Sexuality and Gender in Science Fiction Literature3057 Words   |  13 PagesEdward James This book combines essays by academics and writers of SF, which examine the genre from diverse perspectives. It inspects the beginnings of SF from Thomas More to the present day, and presents significant critical approaches such as Marxism, feminism and queer theory. There is an overlap of themes throughout which provides a chance to read about interrelated subjects from different angles written by numerous authors, which makes the work stronger. In ‘Gender in science fiction’ HelenRead MoreKarl Marx And The Rise Of Capitalism1911 Words   |  8 PagesMarx concluded that modernity was a social construction of mankind. As it was a creation of mankind, he theorized mankind could reverse it and with the public class-consciousness acknowledging this rule, revolution, followed by utopia, was inevitable. The key concepts of Marxism try to understand how the proletariat and bourgeoisie classes interact and how this then creates the structure of society in capitalist cultures. Marx says knowledge about society is easily gained from knowing if one is proletariatRead More Marxism Isnt Dead Essay3751 Words   |  16 Pages ABSTRACT: I defend the continued viability of Marxs critique of capitalism against Ronald Aronsons recent claim that because Marxists are unable to point to a social class or movement away from capitalism, Marxism is over as a project of historical transformation. 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Like their feminist counterparts all over the world,  feminists  in India seek gender equality: the right to work for equal wages, the right to equal access to health and education, and equal political rights.[1]  Indian feminists also have fought against culture-specific issues within Indias  patriarchal  society, such as  inheritance laws  and the practice of widow immolationRead MoreJeanette Winterson Boating for Beginners3918 Words   |  16 Pagessuperficial. Jeanette Winterson criticises the patriarchal society. The text shows how the â€Å"jarring witnesses † is disturbing. Winterson uses a feminist discourse in her novel. The novel has a plot, which includes Noah, his sons and his son’s wives and a subplot depicted by the â€Å"jarring witnesses,† which includes Gloria, Desi, Marlene and Doris. The feminist discourse can be seen in the way she gives Gloria the chance to grow up. It reminds me of the allegory of the Cavern by Plato, Gloria realisesRead MoreThe Rise and Fall of Class in Britain9826 Words   |  40 Pagesconcepts associated most famously (or most notoriously) with Karl Marx, which have been elaborated and developed by his self-confessed disciples and have also been used, much more critically and selectively, by many social historians who did not regard Marxism as dogmatic, self-evident, incontrovertible truth. In trying to understand and explain the evolution of past societies, Marx believed it was essential to deal not just with the politics of their ruling elites but also with the histories of their wholeRead MoreApush Ch 183005 Words   |  13 PagesIrish [B] Chinese [C] French-Canadian [D] German [E] Mexican 29. Women joined the work force in growing numbers in the late nineteenth century because [A] trade unions won a series of court cases opening employment opportunities for women. [B] the feminist movement encouraged farm girls and young immigrant women to work in order to become independent of their families. [C] industrialists thought women would have a civilizing influence on the brutal factory conditions. [D] the Civil War had createdRead MoreChristian Ethics in a Postmodern World Essay example6531 Words   |  27 Pagesof â€Å"false consciousness† (False belief in social reality structures that betray the believers) (Mannheim 1936: 78). Karl Mannheim learns from Nietzsche and borrows from Karl Marx the concept of false consciousness and applies it eventually to Marxism. He investigates how societies create and perpetuate structures of reality (sociology of knowledge). The sociology of knowledge investigates human actions, habits, institutions, social roles and controls, legitimizations and reifications (dehumanizationRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagessought employment as domestic workers in private homes, especially until they reached marriageable age. The new factories of East and Southeast Asia employed mostly women, creating new family dynamics in the process. As women entered the workforce, feminist planners, in particular, asked how systems of transportation, allocation of urban market spaces, provision of child care, and the design of residences might be differently configured to accommodate the needs of women, especially working mothers