Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto

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In Feminism for the 99%, Arruzza, Bhattacharya, and Fraser set out to present a working-class women’s alternative to Sandberg’s corporate feminism and “equal opportunity domination” for a select few women in power. The authors write, “We aim to explain why feminists should choose the road of feminist strikes, why we must unite with other anticapitalist and antisystemic movements, and why our movement must become a feminism for the 99%.” Woven throughout the book, the authors outline their vision for a movement based on the understanding that true equality for Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya, and Nancy Fraser ... have collaborated and written what is effectively a prospective programme for the global women's movement, a feminist manifesto for the 99%. Socialism Today Since 2015, massive women’s mobilizations have taken place, and in this framework an increasingly active minority has begun to recognize that gender inequality cannot be analyzed separately from the global inequality created by capitalism. This idea is gaining in popularity, but it still doesn’t have an unambiguous definition. More often than not, most forms of feminism that consider themselves “anti-capitalist” only target the worst aspects of neoliberal policies without proposing to get rid of the entire system. What is becoming clear, however, is the inability of neoliberal feminism to respond to the problems and demands of the majority of women. Even more so, neoliberal feminism is complicit in legitimizing the system by propagating the idea that it is enough to place women in positions of power inside capitalist democracies, that is, including them in the management of exploitation. [3]

To survive and see any real change, feminism must reject not only the far-right neo-traditionalists, but also the ‘progressive’ neoliberals on the left. Along the way, feminists need to turn away from “‘carceral feminism’ [which] takes for granted precisely what needs to be called into question: the mistaken assumption that the laws, police, and courts maintain sufficient autonomy from the capitalist power structure to counter its deep-seated tendency to generate gender violence.”

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But this is no surprise. Capitalism’s existence and propagation is due to its historical and continual subjection of others. There is no longer any point in asking whether capitalism can be tenable without the oppression of an other; capitalism has proven, time and time again, that it is not. Its dependency on imperialism keeps it from coexisting with other systems, which is why historically countries that try to move in directions that are outside the economic interests of US companies are threatened with economic sanctions, imposed with economic sanctions, and more often than not intervened with in a coup: think of Guatemala in 1954 or Chile in 1973 for starters. It’s never been a better time to reject the “global pyramid scheme.”

Such forms of political action by feminists on the left – or what has been dubbed “feminism for the 99%” – have escalated since the global financial crash of 2008. A prominent example has been Sisters Uncut’s spectacular protests (such as colouring the fountains at Trafalgar Square red) against the UK government’s austerity cuts to domestic violence support services. These actions are reactions to the savage inequality that has stemmed from the government’s pursuit of policies that favoured the rich and the financial services industry. Austerity and spending cuts have entrenched gender inequality: forcing women to undertake more unpaid care work, for instance.Evans, Dayna. "On March 8, Women Will Go on Strike". The Cut. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018 . Retrieved 24 October 2018. As a first step, we propose to help build an international strike against male violence and in defense of reproductive rights on 8 March. In this, we join with feminist groups from around 30 countries who have called for such a strike.

We believe that these changes in the composition of the class that represents a majority of society (at least socially, if not in absolute numbers) are expressed by the feminist movement’s adoption of the term “strike,” the workers’ traditional method of struggle. Even though most feminist organizations do not use it, [6] the strike slogan is a tool for feminism—a multi-class and still mostly urban movement, in which enlightened sectors of the petty bourgeoisie exercise political and ideological hegemony—to enter into a new dialogue with ever-larger sectors of working women. That same spring, on 8 March 2018, a countrywide feminist strike brought Spain to a halt. Joined by five million marchers, the organizers of la huelga feminista called for ‘a society free of sexist oppression, exploitation and violence’—‘for rebellion and struggle against the alliance of the patriarchy and capitalism that wants us to be obedient, submissive and quiet.’ As the sun set over Madrid and Barcelona and crowds of cheering women filled the streets, feminist strikers announced: ‘On March 8 we cross our arms and interrupt all productive and reproductive activity.’ They refused to accept worse working conditions than men or less pay for the same work. Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto By Cinzia Arruzza, Nancy Fraser, and Tithi Bhattacharya Published by Verso, 2019 Reviewed by Laura FitzgeraldWe agree with the definitions that the manifesto presents, in different chapters in the form of theses, about the capitalist crisis; about the roots of gender violence, including a critique of punitive solutions; and about the normalization and regulation of sexuality under capitalism, and the need to liberate it. We agree with the denunciation of the racist and colonial violence that marked the origins of capitalism. Capitalism is leading to the destruction of the planet, and the manifesto calls for an anti-imperialist, eco-socialist and internationalist feminism. Thus, liberal feminism reproduces inequalities by agreeing with the dominant ideology, even though it is harmful for so many women. According to the authors of the manifesto, corporate feminism basically advocates for an “equal opportunity domination” (p. 2), that is to say that this kind of feminism wants women to be able to dominate their poor employees and become wealthier at the expense of the rest of the population, just as male managers do. It is a good thing to ask for equal pay with men, but even if it was achieved, poor women workers would remain as precarious as poor men workers. Rowbotham, Sheila, Lynne Segal, and Hilary Wainwright. 2013. Beyond the Fragments: Feminism and the Making of Socialism. Brecon: Merlin Press Limited. Feminism of the 99% has ideological groundings consistent with different but distinct feminist groups. Best understood as a rejection of a perceived failure of mainstream liberal feminism, Feminism of the 99% seeks to combine the positions of anti-racism, anti-sexism, and anti-neoliberalism. [1] In doing so Feminism of the 99% is linked very closely to existing feminist movements globally. a] timely, fiery manifesto ... Arruzza, Bhattacharya, and Fraser herald the arrival of a new internationalist, anticapitalist feminist movement ... The feminism they describe is universalist and collaborative, in solidarity with antiracist, queer, environmental, migrant, and labor rights movements also endangered by capitalism. Publishers Weekly