MarxFem/MatFem IV

[Martha Gimenez <gimenez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

     In light of the above, given the inherent ambiguity of the
term Materialist Feminism, shouldn't it be more theoretically
adequate and politically fruitful to return to Marxist Feminism?
Is the effort of struggling to redefine Materialist Feminism by
reinserting Marxist Feminist knowledges a worthwhile endeavor?
How important is it to broaden the notion of Materialist Feminism
to include Marxist Feminist contents?  Perhaps the political
climate inside and outside the academy is one where Marxism is so
discredited that Marxist Feminists are likely to find more
acceptance and legitimacy by claiming Materialist Feminism as their
theoretical orientation.  I do not in anyway impute this motivation
to Ingraham and Hennessy whose introduction to their book is openly
Marxist.  In fact, after I read it and looked over the table of
contents I thought a more adequate title for the book would have
been Marxist Feminism.  And anyone familiar with historical
materialism can appreciate the sophisticated Marxist foundation of
Hennessy's superbly argued book.  In my view, as the ruthlessness
of the world market intensifies the exploitation of all working
people among which women are the most vulnerable and the most
oppressed, the time has come not just to retrieve the Marxist
heritage in feminist thought but to expand Marxist Feminist theory
in ways that both incorporate and transcend the  contributions of
postmodern theorizing.

     The justification for using Materialist Feminism rather than
Marxist Feminism is the alleged insufficiency of Marxist Theory for
adequately explaining the oppression of women.  Lurking behind the
repeated statements about the the shortcomings of Marxism there is
an economistic and undialectical understanding of Marx and Marxist
theory.  That Marx may not have addressed issues that 20th century
feminists consider important is not a sufficient condition to
invalidate Marx's methodology as well as the potential of his
theory of capitalism to help us understand the conditions that
oppress women. But regardless of those pronouncements, it is
fascinating, in retrospect, to read the theory produced by self-
defined Materialist Feminists and realize that they are actually
using and developing Marxist theory in ways that belie statements
about its inherent shortcomings.  And it is important to know how
Kuhn and Wolpe, authors of FEMINISM AND MATERIALISM (1978) define
the term materialism;  they adopted Engels' definition of the term:
     "According to the materialist conception, the determining
     factor in history is, in the final instance, the production
     and reproduction of immediate life. This, again, is of a
     twofold character:  on the one side, the production of the
     means of existence, of food, clothing and shelter and the
     tools necessary for that production;  on the other side,
     the production of human beings themselves, the propagation
     of the species" (Engels, [1883] 1972,   p.71)(Kuhn and Wolpe,
     1978: 7).
Kuhn, Wolpe and the contributors to their book in various ways
expanded the scope of historical materialism to produce new
knowledges about the oppression of women under capitalism. But
materialist feminism, a term which may have been useful in the past
might have lost its effectivity today.  How useful is it to broaden
the meaning of Materialist Feminism today to encompass Marxist
Feminism if, at the same time,  the term is claimed by cultural
materialists whose views are profoundly anti-marxist?  How will the
new generations learn about the theoretical and political
importance of historical materialism for women if historical
materialist analysis is subsumed under the Materialist Feminist
label?  Doesn't this situation contribute to the marginalization of
scholars who continue to self-identify as Marxist Feminists?  I
understand Marxist Feminism as the body of theory produced by
feminists who, adopting the logic of analysis of historical
materialism, expand the scope of the theory while critically
incorporating useful insights and knowledges from non-marxist
theorizing, just as Marx grappled with the discoveries of the
classical economists and their shortcomings. Why should this
theoretical enterprise present itself under a different name,
especially one likely to elicit some degree of confusion among the
younger generations of feminists? Furthermore, the political cost
of doing, essentially, Marxist theorizing under the banner of
Materialist Feminism is likely to be exceedingly high. Why?
Because,  by overstressing the "materialist" aspect in historical
materialism it can contribute justify the dominant stereotypes
about Marxism: its materialism, meaning its alleged anti-agency,
anti-human, deterministic, reductionist limitations.

     The answers to these questions are political and will come
from feminists practices and dialogue and from the effects of the
intensification of capitalist rule upon both first and third world
peoples.  In the meantime, it is important to know that Marxist and
some works within Materialist Feminism share fundamental
theoretical assumptions and political goals.

References

Rosemary Hennessy, MATERIALIST FEMINISM AND THE POLITICS OF
     DISCOURSE. Routledge, 1993.

Rosemary Hennessy and Chrys Ingraham, eds., MATERIALIST FEMINISM.
     A Reader in Class, Difference, and Women's Lives. Routledge,
     1997.

Annette Kuhn and AnnMarie Wolpe, eds., FEMINISM AND MATERIALISM.
     Women and Modes of Production. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978.

Donna Landry and Gerald Maclean, MATERIALIST FEMINISMS. Blackwell,
     1993.

Karl Marx, SELECTED WRITINGS (L. H. Simon, ed.). Hackett Publishing
     Co., 1995.

Toril Moi and Janice Radway, "Editors' Note." The South Atlantic
     Quarterly (Fall, 1994): 749.

Lise Vogel, WOMAN QUESTIONS. Essays for a Materialist Feminism.
     Routledge, 1995.

Jennifer Wicke, "Celebrety Material: Materialist Feminism and the
     Culture of Celebrety." The South Atlantic Quarterly (Fall,
     1994): 751-78.


Martha E. Gimenez
Department of Sociology
University of Colorado at Boulder
http://csf.colorado.edu/gimenez/