“White working-class women appear to be more open than men are to progressive appeals (62 percent of them voted for Trump, as opposed to 72 percent of their male counterparts). That suggests that the most promising path forward would be to agitate for a robust economic agenda focused on women’s needs: a $15 minimum wage, universal child care and pre-K, paid family leave, free college, and tough laws that crack down on wage theft and guarantee fair scheduling and equal pay for women. One of the strengths of such an agenda is that its appeal is hardly limited to women. In our brave new economy, increasing numbers of men now labor under the kinds of precarious working conditions—low wages, minimal benefits, little if any security—that have traditionally characterized women’s employment. Policies like these would help the men, too. They would not be not just righteous, but politically pragmatic.
But it’s not only the Democratic Party that is badly in need of reform. The feminist movement, too, needs to reorient itself. Feminists would be well-advised to ease up on pop culture navel-gazing and corporate pseudo-feminist drivel like Lean In. They need to shift their central focus from the glass ceiling to the sticky floor, which, after all, is the place where most women dwell. A feminism that delivers for working-class women by addressing their material needs could expand feminism’s base and bring about a much-needed feminist revival. A feminism that delivers for working-class women by addressing their material needs could radically expand feminism’s base. And should feminism once again become a vibrant bottom-up mass movement instead of a top-down elite concern, there’s no telling how far it could go.”
4 comments
November 11, 2016 at 2:07 pm
robert browning
Seems a good plan: unite women for specific economic needs/ justice; Much better than intellectual debates over definitions and terminology. iAlso it may be a real eye opener for all citizens when DerTrump sends the swat teams in on working women protesters.
LikeLike
November 11, 2016 at 2:12 pm
john zande
And this is why something good is actually going to come from the disaster about to befall the US.
LikeLike
November 11, 2016 at 3:06 pm
Meg
It doesn’t surprise me that Robert or John like this idea. There’s a lot of misogynists who want to put women to work fixing problems men created.
I think putting a focus on class in Feminism is a great idea. However if this is going to be another four or eight years of having another social issue overshadowing sexism or deflecting from men’s responsibility to check their male privilege, I’m not interested.
LikeLiked by 2 people
November 11, 2016 at 3:45 pm
roughseasinthemed
@ Meg. Mostly John likes women to make his sandwiches :)
LikeLike