Queer emancipation in early Soviet Russia
A long letter from a gay man highlights the emancipation which touched LGBT people across Russia after October 1917.
Claiming the scalp of a nasty little shit
The fall of Toby Young is a victory for the movement against sexual abuse of women, argues Seb Cooke.
Capitalism’s life source: the domestic and social basis for exploitation
US-based socialist Tithi Bhattacharya responds to questions from rs21 on her new book about social reproduction theory.
Social Reproduction Theory: going beyond Marx’s Capital
Colin Barker of Manchester rs21 spoke on ‘Social Reproduction Theory: Remapping Class, Recentering Oppression’ at the recent Historical Materialism conference in London.
What is Transgender Day of Remembrance, and why does it matter?
Charlie Powell and Taisie Tsikas write on the significance of Transgender Day of Remembrance in the ongoing struggle against the oppression of transgender people.
50 years on from 1967 Abortion Act
Throughout the fifty years that the Act has been on the statute book pro-choice activists have had to repel repeated attempts to curtail its provisions.
The Daily Mail and sexual harassment: a statement
Today the Mail on Sunday published an article about sexist remarks made to Kate Bradley by a Unite staff member and her complaint about them.
The Tories, sexual violence and institutional cover-ups
Reflecting on allegations towards 36 Conservative MPs, Kate Bradley argues that we should look past the big scandals and dodgy politics of the list itself – it’s the violence and the cover-ups which should concern us most. Reports of inappropriate sexual behaviour in the Conservative Party have dominated headlines for the past few days, the […]
Harvey Weinstein: when male entitlement meets corporate power
Annie Lord looks at the Harvey Weinstein case as an example of how workplace authoritarianism lets abusive men off the hook The much-publicised Harvey Weinstein case is a perfect example of the ever-present exploitative relationships that emerge in hierarchical institutions. Praised as the darling of indie film-making for his work on The Crying Game, Pulp […]
Trans* rights and the Gender Recognition Act
Emma Rock, a queer activist living in Germany, offers a socialist analysis of the recent debate. Trans* rights have increasingly moved from the fringes and into the spotlight for the Left. While this attention should be something we could all applaud, it has not been characterised by support for the rights of gender nonconforming people […]
3 perspectives on rs21’s A Day Without Men
The day of discussion included sessions on Corbyn and ‘Corbynomics’, social reproduction and struggles for healthcare and housing, and repression and resistance in Catalonia.
Reflections of a reluctant transsexual
Evren Filgate gives their perspective on the reform of the Gender Recognition Act and the struggle that trans people face in their daily lives. We heard news a few weeks ago that the Gender Recognition Act is being reformed. Hooray! Surely that is a good thing. We have Made It; it is just like 2013, […]
The remarkable story of Margarete Klopfleisch
rs21 member Sonja Grossner tells the story of her remarkable mother Margarete Klopfleisch, an artist and communist during the Nazi period in Germany who spent time in hiding in the UK. The full biography The Troubles to Greet Beauty is available to buy from Waterstones or Amazon. Margarete (‘Greta’) Klopfleisch (nee Grossner) was born in […]
The Handmaid’s Tale: hope is evident amidst repression
Angela Stapleford argues that the recent adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale holds up a mirror to the worst possibilities within our own world, but also shows the possibility of resistance.
Women and socialism: A conversation with Sharon Smith
Earlier this month rs21 hosted a conversation with American socialist Sharon Smith, author of Women and Socialism: Class, Race and Capital. Listen to audio recording here:
Things to read before you comment on the Gender Recognition Act
Following the announcement of reforms to the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, rs21 recommends reading to help socialists understand the key issues. This week, the government has announced reforms to the 2004 Gender Recognition Act to make legal processes for registering a change of gender less distressing. This has sparked debates across the media, including […]
The politics of mental health
Hazel Croft argues that, while reducing stigma is a good start, we also need a more radical approach to mental health
Did the 1967 Act start acceptance of LGBT people?
Looking back on the1967 Sexual Offences Act, which partly decriminalised sex between men, we ask: what really started to change things for LGBT people?
Review: The Politics of Everybody
Bill Crane reviews Holly Lewis’ standout book on the relationship between capitalism and oppression. One of the most promising trends on the intellectual left in recent years is the emergence of a strong and sophisticated Marxist-feminist current of academics and activists. The identification of the social reproduction of the working class as the root of […]
Solidarity with Chicago Dyke March: it’s not antisemitic to oppose Israel
In the last few weeks, controversy has erupted about events on the Chicago Dyke March, held on 24 June. Colin Wilson argues that we should stand in solidarity with the march’s organisers. The Dyke March has taken place annually for over twenty years as an alternative to a Pride Parade as its founders believed was […]
Morocco: an interview with Hirak activist Yassmin B
Yassmin B is an activist who has been actively involved in The Popular Movement (al-Hirak) in Morocco since October, in al-Hoceima and elsewhere. A further interview with an al-Hirak militant can be read here. This interview was originally published at avalancheofdust. Al-Hirak involves women at the leadership and base levels, who have organised with and, on occasions, ‘besides’ their […]
Pride not profit
The London Pride march takes place this coming weekend, on Saturday 8 July. Barclays, Tesco and Virgin Atlantic are all sponsors of an increasingly corporate event. But opposition to dominance of corporations and official state bodies is also emerging internationally. After Black Lives Matter, uniformed cops can’t march at Pride in Toronto, while on 10 […]
Housing and women’s protests join forces against May
A protest in central London unites two groups fighting the Tories
We burned the cop cars one by one: a review of ‘When We Rise’ by Cleve Jones
Colin Wilson reviews an inspiring memoir of decades of LGBT activism
Anti-gay atrocities in Chechnya: let asylum seekers into Britain!
Media reports from Chechnya bring Nazi persecution to mind and are leading to protests against the Russian government. Yet our own government regularly turns away LGBT asylum seekers – attacking that injustice is the best thing we can do to help Chechen gay men, writes Colin Wilson. Protest at the Russian embassy (photo: Steve Eason) […]
Interview: Women in the Revolution
Estelle Cooch interviews Katy Turton author of Forgotten Lives – the role of Lenin’s sisters in the Russian Revolution The role of women in the February Revolution is relatively well known about, but how involved were women in the events of October? As you would expect, women were participants in the October revolution, but they […]
8 Radical Actions across the UK and Ireland for International Women’s Day
A hundred years ago in Russia, huge numbers of women used International Working Women’s Day to strike for food and better conditions, and sparked a movement that would ultimately overthrow the tsar and completely reorder Russian society. This year, there are many events being organised in the spirit of 1917, calling for mass action from below […]
Peckham Pride: ‘When one marginalised group becomes a target, it is a risk to all of us.’
Last Saturday saw the second year of Peckham Pride; marching through south London in a show of solidarity between the LGBT community and migrants. Ida-Sofie Picard, an organiser for Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants, writes on the politics of Pride, solidarity, and the importance of celebrating histories of resistance for struggle today. February the […]
Feeling hopeful on angry London march against Trump’s inauguration: report and photos
Amy Downham writes about why she attended the women’s march against Trump’s inauguration in London. Also see the report from Edinburgh by Eileen Cook For me today was about standing up for the rights that have been fought for by our ancestors that Trump has pompously disregarded and disrespected. It was about equality, equality for […]
Trump inauguration: Edinburgh protests
Eileen Cook reports on two demonstrations in Edinburgh in less than twenty-four hours. The first, on Friday evening, was called by Stand Up to Racism, UCU Scotland, Muslim Women’s Association, anti-war and peace groups and others. It was attended by nearly six hundred people. It was very crowded at the assembly point on the narrow […]