Title: 21st century feminism | Socialist Review
Headings: 21st century feminism
21st century feminism
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Content: Today women who want to differentiate themselves from doormats face some of the same problems. More than 40 years after women's liberation became part of radical politics it seems incredible that there is still so much confusion and division about what feminism is. There have been very great changes in women's lives in the past few decades. They include much more openness about sexuality, millions of mothers going out to work, women breaking into new industries and professions, and acceptance that women will work outside the home, have children outside marriage, and have the right to control their own sexuality. But work and personal life have been distorted by the constraints of capitalism and have fallen far short of liberation. So there is still as much to fight for. Here is my manifesto for a 21st century feminism: 1) Globalisation and neoliberalism have had a profound effect on the lives of millions of women. Capitalism itself has created new forms and manifestations of women's oppression. 2) Women's oppression is a product of class society which has existed for thousands of years.