Yugoslav socialist feminism in relation to contemporary theories that emerged at the intersection of gender and class issues

Abstract

The subject of this PhD thesis is the development of Yugoslav socialist feminism between 1975 and 1990, from the point of view of contemporary theories that emerged at the intersection of gender and class analysis. In order to delineate the position of Yugoslav socialist feminism in the history of leftist feminisms, we trace the dynamic relationship of women's and workers' liberation movements from the end of the 19th century, via so-called second-wave leftist feminist currents, to the modern tendencies. In particular, the thesis provides a comparative interpretation of the works by Vida Tomšič, Blaženka Despot and Nada Ler-Sofronić, according to these three criteria: how do these authors reinterpret the classics of Marxism; how do they explain the relationship of the concepts of class and gender; and what was their opinion on the so-called women's question within the workers' movement, that is, on feminist organizations. Based on this, we identify two original Yugoslav leftist approaches to feminism: the socialist self-management approach to the women's question, which emerged from the tradition of classical Marxism, linking it with the Yugoslav self-management theory, and the Yugoslav socialist feminism, which critically approaches the classical cannon, intersects and develops further on the second-wave leftist approaches in relation to the theory and practice of socialist self-management. In addition, the study of this corpus goes beyond mere interpretation of the past. It also addresses important questions for the present moment, regarding the possibilities of forging alliances between feminism and Marxism, as well as the other progressive movements. By doing so, we aim at re-establishing a continuity with the leftist feminist tradition in the region, a contiuity that was briefly interrupted during the 1990s and 2000s, and thus, at intervening into the history of Yugoslav thought on feminism and Marxism alike

Razvoj jugoslovenskog socijalističkog feminizma, u periodu od 1975. do 1990, iz ugla savremenih teorija nastalih na presjeku analiza roda i klase, tema je ove doktorske disertacije. Kako bi se odredilo mjesto jugoslovenskog socijalističkog feminizma u ljevičarskoj feminističkoj istoriji, prati se istorija dinamičnog osnosa pokretâ za žensku i radničku emancipaciju od kraja devetnaestog vijeka, preko ljevičarskih feminističkih struja tzv. drugog talasa, do savremenih tendencija. Uporednom metodom, interpretiraju se opusi Vide Tomšič, Blaženke Despot i Nade Ler-Sofronić, prema tri kriterijuma: kako ove autorke reinterpretiraju klasike marksizma; kako objašnjavaju odnos pojmova klase i roda; i kakav stav imaju prema tzv. ženskom pitanju u okviru radničkog pokreta, odnosno prema feminističkim organizacijama. Na osnovu toga, u radu se prepoznaju dva originalna jugoslovenska ljevičarska feministička pristupa: samoupravni pristup ženskom pitanju, koji nastaje u tradiciji klasičnog marksizma, povezujući je sa teorijom samoupravljanja, i jugoslovenski socijalistički feminizam, koji kritički pristupa klasičnom kanonu, te premrežava i nadgrađuje drugotalasne lijeve pristupe sa teorijom i praksom samoupravljanja. Proučavanje ovog korpusa tekstova ne zadržava se samo na interpretaciji prošlosti, već postavlja pitanja od ključnog značaja i za savremeni trenutak, koja se tiču mogućnosti savezništva između feminizma i marksizma, kao i drugih progresivnih pokreta. Takođe, uspostavlja se, tokom devedesetih godina prošlog i prve decenije ovog vijeka nakratko prekinut, kontinuitet sa ljevičarskom feminističkom tradicijom u regionalnim okvirima, čime se interveniše u polje jugoslovenske istorije teorijske misli i feminizma i marksizma