Re-post of an article I wrote on a London Feminist conference in October 2009!

Anthony Brain wrote the following analysis of a Feminist conference held in
London on October 23rd:-


These brief comments update the line I argued in April 2010 in which I outlined
how to apply the old American SWP prior to Barnes of a Leninist-Trotskyist
strategy of what they called a combined revolution 3rd American Socialist
revolution (see appendix which has the original April document) to the British
situation before May 2010's general election.


It would be useful if other women comrades could write other reports about the
London Feminist Network (LFN) conference in London held on October 23rd 2010.
From the limited reading (I have only read Julia Long's report) the main
discussion was how to organise to stop Sexist violence against women. Due to
British Capitalism's decay all the old oppressions are coming to the surface.
During the 1970s, Britain's ruling class were able to buy off a layer of middle
class women which weakened the social movements. It is very positive that there
is a beginning of a sizeable Feminist movement of middle and working class women
are emerging. The varied demands being raised by Feminists ranging from
opposing violence against women to fighting against cuts which is going to hit
working and middle class women hard are signs of a profound radicalisation
against a Capitalist society which is making their oppression worse.


April's document dealt with how to apply the combined revolution strategy to
Britain. All I add here is there should be campaigns like the LFN which bring
together women fighting oppression in general and single issue campaigns which
unite women and their allies around one or two issues. Trotskyists have to
respect and argue why at this stage there should be women-only meetings because
it is only by developing confidence of how they fight their oppression, will
working/middle class women be able to unite with male workers and middle class
men eventually to overthrow Capitalism. If British Capitalism is going to be
overthrown male workers have to be broken from Sexism and won to fight for a
specific programme to liberate working and middle class women from their
oppression. One contradiction revealed in Long's report is that all the
panellists on the domestic violence workshop opposed campaigning for Sexist
hatred laws. We should campaign for Sexist violence to be criminalised. By
waging such a struggle you build a mass movement by the oppressed and their
allies in the working class which begins to challenge Capitalist rule. Even if
the ruling class makes concessions outlawing Sexist violence Trotskyists point
out it is mass action which achieved this.


Since the general election working class and middle class women are facing a
massive onslaught through cuts. 70% of these women are going to suffer the most
from these attempted cutbacks. A lot of working class women are on low incomes
already. Social benefits (different categories of unemployed) on top of this
are being slashed. Middle class women are being attacked with child benefit
being reduced and with top-up University fees increasing.

Trotskyists see other aspects of the middle class and women workers fighting
their oppression by campaigning against Sexist violence and withdrawing licenses
for lap dancing clubs which make super-profits by treating women as sexual
objects. Long correctly sees the need to link up with ethnic minority women who
suffer both Racism and Sexism. This started to happen at last Saturday's
conference. One major difference I have with Long is when she argues women from
all classes can unite against Women's oppression. It is class society which
causes women's oppression. Within this framework Trotskyists recognise specific
social oppressions, and by fighting around a specific programme of demands for
oppressed groups win them over to a workers struggle for power. Ruling class
women while being oppressed as women will very mostly put their class interests
first against an incipient Socialist revolution. Despite that difference of
opinion with Long she is correct to praise the Dagenham film. This shows the
potential of the oppressed and workers coming together to challenge Capitalism.