Title: Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for the Women's Movement
Headings: Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for the Women's Movement
Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for the Women's Movement
Content: Socialist Feminism--the concept and what it draws from each parent tradition. Power--the basis for power in this society, and our potential as women to gain power. An applied example of our strategy. Consciousness--the importance of consciousness for the development of the women's movement, its limitations, and its place in a socialist feminist ideology. Current issues and questions facing our movement--A socialist feminist approach to respond to and develop a context for our programs and concerns. Organization--the importance of building organizations for the women's liberation movement and some thoughts on organizational forms. The ideas that we are presenting are probably shared by many women in the movement, but so far they have not been articulated or identified nationally. We are not organized partly because our tolerance for different approaches, which our ideology encourages, makes it hard to present a new or contrary position. Furthermore, certain factors in our movement work against any kind of organization. Fears of elitism, the emphasis on personal alternatives and strengths, fear of failure, disbelief in the possibility of winning, and even fear of winning, have all played a role in our hesitancy
We are addressing the paper now to women who share our ideas of socialist feminism, whether they are women working in the movement, women who have never been active, women who have dropped out of the movement, or women working in mixed organizations.