Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 18:08:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Ann Ferguson <aferguso-AT-benfranklin.hnet.uci.edu>
Subject: Re: radical v. socialist feminism


11/18/94

	Rebecca questions whether radical feminism "grew out" of 
socialist feminism in the 60s.  In my opinion, it was the reverse.  First 
there was the New Left and the Civil Rights movement, then a radical 
feminist tendency developed within that movement that although 
anti-capitalist, was suspicious of Marxism because of the sectarian 
groups that had insisted on a "unite and fight" line while being 
explicitly sexist, particularly in the sexual liberation experimentation 
of the period.  The radical feminists like Firestone and Dworkin were 
initially not essentialist, but social constructionist about patriarchy.  
However they tended to prioritize the patriarchal social construction of 
sexuality and the power relations between the genders as the 
psychological underpinning of other domination relations like class and 
race. Cultural feminism developed as lesbian-separatism developed and 
Daly, Barry and Dworkin became more essentialist and basically despairing 
of working with men.  But at the same time, in the early to mid 70s, a 
new autonomous socialist-feminism arose which I associated myself with, 
which appropriated some of the early radical feminist insights yet argued 
that capitalism and racism could not simply be reduced to aspects of 
patriarchy but needed to be understood and organized against re their 
particular historically based domination/exploitation relations.  This 
grassroots socialist feminist movement set up community women's centers 
and women's work groups to organize among women workers, for childcare, 
for reproductive rights, for lesbian rights, against nuclear power, in 
solidarity with third world liberation struggles, for school bussing and 
against racism, etc, but as an autonomous women's movement that also 
worked in coalition with men (e.g. attending the Peoples Bicentennial 
Rally in Philadelpia in 1976, pro-bussing rallies in Boston, etc. etc).

	It was this socialist-feminist practice, autonomous yet 
coalitional, that fed a lot of my generation academic feminist 
theory-building.  On the other hand, the old radical feminist tendency 
poured a lot of energy into anti-pornography activism or women's peace 
encampments in Seneca Falls and the Women's Pentagon Action which was 
anti-coaltional in nature (although some socialist-feminists also 
participated in these actions).  This separatist practice just fed their 
developing essentialist cultural feminism.  Although the autonomous 
socialist feminist women's unions did not survive the 70s, succumbing to 
various splits in various cities (e.g. lesbian/straight splits, 
Marxist-Leninist sectarian splits, etc), many socialist-feminists went 
into the academy and still remain politically active in both autonomous 
women's actions and in coalition work, e.g. against the Gulf War. 

	As for Tom Smith's supposed "trashing" of me, I have to laugh.  
It is hard to respond to a position that is so hysterical and which 
refuses to take one's position seriously.  It seems he could listen to 
Justin Schwartz to some extent but not to you Rebecca or to me.  So I 
figure either people can see what the subtext is, or not, but it is not 
worth my while to dialogue with someone who isnt listening.

	Best
	Ann Ferguson
	aferguso-AT-uci.edu


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