Breaking Our Chains: Women, Marxism & the Path to Liberation

Public conference & dayschool in Glasgow hosted by Socialist Workers Party, Scotland

We live in a world of deep crisis. War, inequality and oppression are features of everyday life. Despite making up over 52% of the population, women suffer globally at the hands of those in power. Sexism is part of the fabric of the society we live in.

Over the last year, the rise of the far right has made the world an even more dangerous place for women. Abortion rights are continuously under attack in the US and Trans women have faced attacks from the Labour government here. As Trump seeks to spread American Imperialism through threatening war, we know women will be left to pick up the pieces. We've also seen the rise of far right figures online who promote misogyny and violence against women.

From Andrew Tate to Jordan Peterson, millions are watching their hateful content. The prolific nature of such content puts women's lives at risk, there are countless examples of women murdered in the name of 'incel' ideology.

However, whilst sexism feels like an age old thing, it hasn’t always existed and we can fight for a world where it doesn’t exist again.

This conference, dayschool and launch of this new book will locate the birth of women's oppression in class society and explains how it operates under capitalism. We will be exploring new topics such as Imperialist feminism and the Manosphere.

Join us for an afternoon of debate; where sexism comes from, a Marxist analysis of the family, the rise of figures like Tate and Tradwives, why they’re ideas are popular amongst young people and how we can fight against a system that has sexism at its heart. All welcome!

TIMETABLE:

REGISTRATION OPENS AT 10:30AM

opening plenary: 11 AM - 12 noon

women, racism and imperialism: resisting the predators in power

Charlotte Ahmed & Jade Eckhaus

WORKSHOPS: 12:15 - 1:30PM

1) Have women always been oppressed?

olive whigham

2) Marxism, gender and liberation

audrey martin & katie coles

WORKSHOPS: 2:15 - 3:30pm

1) The far right and the new misogyny

Rita P & others

Challenges to Marxist theory of women’s oppression

Judy Cox

Closing plenary: 3:45 - 4:45pm

Will revolution liberate women?

rebecca long & Angela McCormick

About the book:

Breaking Our Chains is a manifesto for the revolutionary socialist approach to winning women's liberation - it outlines a path to a future free of inequality and all oppression. This book reasserts the Marxist analysis of the roots of women's oppression in class society and the evolving role of the family in shaping women's lives. It recounts the struggles of working class and socialist women across the globe not just for equality but for emancipation; and it incorporates trans and non-binary experiences as part of the same fight. With the far-right on the rise and sexual violence in the spotlight, Breaking Our Chains seeks to understand how socialist theory and practice can meet the challenges we face today.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Socialist Workers Party (Scotland)