Friday, September 13, 2013

WHAT SOCIALISM OFFERS :

  With socialism will come the end of all of the many forms of oppression used by the capitalist system, including that faced by women. A socialist society would have no need for the nuclear family, often at the forefront of the exploitation of women, necessary for the passing on of private property and the raising of the next generation of workers for the capitalist.

While capitalism relied upon strict gender roles, socialism would do away with this repressive pigeonholing of individuals. Relationships and families that do not conform to monogamous ideals (required by capitalism for tracking inheritance, reliant more on female monogamy than male monogamy of course) will be as accepted socially as those that do.

This will all be achieved through the guarantee of work for all, with the fair redistribution of working hours giving each worker more free time to spend as they choose, including to care for their family. Bias on the basis of sex, including the reluctance to employ or fairly pay a woman who the employer considers to be of “childbearing age”, would be prohibited. No worker should have to face any form of discrimination or oppression. This, along with equal maternity and paternity leave and an education system emphasising equality (including gender equality), would aid in fighting sexist attitudes on society, such as the expectation of women to be the maternal and caring child raisers and homemakers.

Universal free childcare is a simple solution to alleviating these expectations, allowing parents of all genders to be free to work while their children are safely looked after. In the current economic system, it is women who are saddled with the double burden of shorter working hours and lower wages than their male counterparts, leading to the “logical” conclusion that it is only fair for them to therefore make up this shortfall at home, cleaning, cooking, raising children to name just a few of the societal expectations. Women are also considered to be the natural caregivers, thus relatively expendable in the workplace, at the mercy of the capitalist.

There would also be complete reform of the many institutions with deeply ingrained oppression or discrimination against women. The legal system, with its infamous culture of victim blaming, harsher criminal sentences and such like against women, would become radicalized transformed, operating in the interests of the working class and not the interests of the bosses and those in power. The healthcare system would provide accurate, reliable and respectful care to women, informing them of all their reproductive choices without judgement or misinformation.

We cannot simply wash away the acutely institutionalized oppressive beliefs within society through gender quotas in boardrooms and “real beauty” campaigns from makeup giants. We must refuse to be pandered to by capitalist powers; it is only through a socialist economic system and the reforming of oppressive social views that we can achieve full equality.

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