Women and the family under Lenin Flashcards
Marxism and sexual equality
Marxist theories of gender are fundamentally concerned with analysing the relation between class exploitation and gender inequality. Women’s oppression is regarded as the product of the economic, political, and social structures of capitalism
For Marx, what was the important type of inequality and why?
For Marx, the most important type of inequality was class inequality, because Marx believed that destroying class inequality would lead to the destruction of all other kinds of inequality
Marx women quote
“The bourgeois sees in his wife a mere instrument of production” ‘
“Social progress can be measured by the social position of the female sex”
Lenin and sexual equality
Lenin had a slightly different view to Marx. He argued that capitalism itself would lead to the destruction of sexual and racial inequalities. Lenin argued that the Communist Government had to complete all of the tasks that capitalism should have completed in the Soviet Union. This included the industrialisation of the economy and the destruction of sexual and racial inequality
What was the role of women in Tsarist Russia?
During the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, the roles of women did not vary much from mother/nurturer, worker (if you were a peasant), and wives of dignitaries (if they were nobles). Their social mobility did not progress further than them achieving motherhood or marriage into a prominent family
Briefly describe the oppression of women in Tsarist Russia
Oppression of women was widespread in the culturally backward countryside where the church and tradition had a firm hold
When was the Family Code?
1918
What did the Family Code of 1918 do?
- Gave women equal status to men
- Granted illegitimate children the same legal rights as legitimate ones
- Secularised marriage
- Allowed a couple to take either the husband or wife’s name once married.
What did the Family Code of 1918 sweep away?
The family Code of 1918 swept away centuries of patriarchal and ecclesiastical power and established a new vision based on individual rights and gender equality
Who initiated most of the divorce under Lenin?
Men initiated 70 per cent of divorce
Lenin women quote
“The success of a revolution depends on the extent to which women take part in it”
When did Lenin say the women quote
Speech at the first “All-Russia Congress of Working Women”
Who founded the Zhenotdel and when?
Alexandra Kollontai in 1919
Who is Alexandra Kollontai?
A Russian revolutionary, politician, diplomat and Marxist theoretician who served as the People’s Commissar for Welfare in Vladimir Lenin’s government
What did Alexandra Kollontai believe?
That the family was an oppressive social organisation. She advocated replacing the family with communal living and monogamous marriage with free lobe. For Kollontai, the family encouraged selfishness and individualism
