Re: socialization of reproduction

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx>]

> [was: Re: [PEN-L:14294] Re: The Vulnerable Planet (was Re: suburbia)]
>
> Yoshie wrote:
> > socialism allows for as much socialization of reproduction as
> > possible, thus freeing women for creative work.
>
> taking care of children (and other tasks related to reproduction)
> can be creative, as can managing a house. But the problem is that
> women get locked into these roles. I think that there's more to
> solving this problem than socialization, though: a more equal and
> democratic division of labor in the household is needed. The
> socialism has to be feminist.
>
> Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~JDevine

Right.  The division of care-giving & other kinds of reproductive
labor has to be egalitarian, or else gender oppression won't
disappear.  That said, by reproduction I don't just mean taking care
of children.  Take laundry, for instance.  It's a part of labor that
goes into reproduction of labor power.  A large part of laundry is
still privately done at home (often by women) -- hence individually
owned washers & dryers in rich nations.  That I think is rather
ecologically wasteful.  Why not socialize it under socialism?

Yoshie