#26: Anarcha-Feminism, Part I: Introduction and Herstory
:Early anarchist women, Quiet Rumors review, RAG interview
Listen to the Episode — 112 min
Summary
What is anarcha-feminism, and what contribution has it made to both feminism and anarchism? In this episode we kick off a series exploring anarcha-feminism in the past and present. After framing the issue and dealing with some thorny questions around definitions of feminism and gender, we take a whirlwind tour through the history--or herstory, if you like--of anarchist women from the barricades of the Paris Commune to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War. In addition to Louise Michel, Lucy Parsons, Emma Goldman, and a few other big names, we'll share stories of Russian nihilists, Puerto Rican tobacco workers, Japanese journalists, Mexican guerrillas, and many other unsung heroines of late 19th and early 20th century anarchist struggles. The anthology Quiet Rumors: An Anarcha-Feminist Reader appears on the Chopping Block, and a member of the Revolutionary Anarcha-Feminist Group from Dublin, Ireland joins us for an interview. Clara and Alanis even take issue with a term from the Contradictionary, along with a packed calendar of upcoming events, news, and more. {August 6, 2014}
Notes and Links
The trial of Luke O’Donovan for defending himself against a homophobic attack begin August 11th. Come attend the trial in Atlanta to support or donate to his legal defense fund; info and updates are at http://letlukego.wordpress.com.
In our introduction to the discussion of anarcha-feminism, we cited Wikipedia’s definition of feminism, critiques of equality, discussions of intersectional politics from an anarchist perspective; bell hooks, from Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (also the source of the Cellestine Ware quote); Carol Ehrlich’s “Socialism, Anarchism, and Feminism,” ; a 1980s Norwegian anarcha-feminist statement; Deirdre Hogan’s essay “Anarcha-Feminism: Thinking About Anarchism”; differentiation between sex and gender and between assigned sex and gender identity, as well as critiques of sex, not just gender, as socially constructed and the concept of “not-man” as a non-essentialist, non-identitarian way to talk about subjectivity under patriarchy. Plus a lot of other stuff.