Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century
 
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Feminism and LGBTQ liberation

The Politics of Pride

As the LGBT movement takes to the streets at London Pride today, Colin Wilson reflects on the challenges facing the movement for liberation today. The official guide for Pride London is a remarkably political document. Perhaps, with the Head of Political Broadcasting at Number Ten chairing the Pride committee, that should come as no big surprise. It’s not […]

‘No to Pinkwashing’ at Pride

Members of No to Pinkwashing – No to Israeli Apartheid will be joining the LGBT Pride march in London this Saturday. Colin Wilson explains the background of the campaign. “Pinkwashing” is a cynical Israeli PR strategy, which relies on the claim that Israel has a good record on LGBT issues to divert attention from the […]

Protest against Spain’s anti-abortion bill: 7pm, Friday 27 June, London SW1X 8SB

Abortion rights are under attack in the Spanish state. The right wing government wants to make abortion illegal in all but very restricted circumstances. This is the most fundamental attack on women’s rights in a European country for decades. It must be stopped. The bill will be heard in parliament on Friday 27 June. The Women’s Assembly from the […]

Unison delegates angry over moves to quash domestic violence motion

(picture: Unison bloc at last year’s Manchester demonstration against health cuts) The Unison union’s annual conference is taking place in Brighton this week. The main themes running through it have been the forthcoming pay strikes and anger at the Labour Party. But the past two days have also seen a highly unusual rank-and-file revolt over […]

Hundreds demand justice over gender and caste violence

Ruth Lorimer reports from a demonstration in London earlier this week demanding justice for women raped and murdered in India. Several hundred people, mostly Indian women from across the UK, demonstrated outside the Indian High Commission on Wednesday, demanding that the men who raped and hung two teenage girls in India last week be prosecuted. The demonstration […]

Baltic Pride – not parliament – has the potential for LGBT liberation in Estonia

Civil partnerships for LGBT couples could be recognised in Estonian law from July. But William Cleary argues that the Baltic Pride festival, which will be held in Estonia’s capital in June, will be more significant for LGBT liberation. Estonian legislators are preparing a civil partnerships bill for the parliament, the Riigikogu. The bill is in […]

Fighting homophobia: “the best day of my teaching career”

An NUT rep in Manchester explains how he organised a day that celebrated diversity, and tackled homophobia, in his school with truly astounding results. Stonewall completed two reports in 2007 and 2012 about the level of homophobia within schools. The reports give ample evidence that homophobia is an acute problem within both primary and secondary […]

Constructing Lads mags – Playboy to Nuts

Estelle Cooch looks at the demise of Nuts and asks what the competition of original porn mags Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler, can tell us about lads mags today. A decade on from its launch, the owners of sexist “lads mag” Nuts announced this week it was due to close, after sales plummeted from 300,000 at […]

rs21 Political Weekend: Social reproduction

Estelle Cooch’s meeting on social reproduction kicked off a debate about the precarious and contradictory positions that neoliberalism tries to straddle when it comes to women. An introduction to the theory was followed by a complex, but useful discussion about the struggle to defend the welfare state, the nature of productive labour, and the pressures facing […]

Social reproduction – what it is and why it matters

Reproduction involves more than just the creation of human beings – it involves the reproduction of the “capital relation” itself – the worker and the capitalist.

Fighting oppression is at the heart of socialism

The fight against oppression needs to be fully integrated into the fight against capitalism and for socialism.

The trouble with social reproduction theory

Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale look at the shortcomings of Social Reproduction Theory and ask if there is an alternative that doesn’t rely so much on the biological differences between the sexes.

What is social reproduction theory?

In the first of a series of articles looking at and debating social reproduction theory, here we republish Tithi Bhattacharrya’s introductory piece on some of the basics.

rs21 IWD meeting: No More Blurred Lines

Watch the video from rs21’s event ‘No More Blurred Lines: sexism and exploitation in the neoliberal era’ organised for International Women’s Day 2014.

Interview: “I won’t be blamed anymore”

Sara is an activist in the Egyptian group Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment (OpAntiSH).

The radical roots of International Women’s Day

Though celebration of IWD today is often dominated by governments and NGOs, the day has its origins in revolutionary struggle.

Review: Blurred Lines

Jaz Blackwell-Pal reviews the play Blurred Lines, a political piece of theatre that highlights how powerful women are in the face of misogyny and a sexist onslaught.

Poland’s Gender Trouble

Dan Swain examines the debate over gender issues that is dominating Polish politics.

Hypocrisy, homophobia and the neoliberal ruling class

As the Sochi Olympics began, many politicians and multinationals have statements supporting LGBT rights and condemning Russia’s homophobic government, but there are doubts about these new friends of equality.

My Belly Is Mine: Londoners against Spanish abortion law

Around 40 people gathered outside the Spanish embassy in London on Saturday to protest in solidarity with women in the Spanish State over abortion reforms.

Russians march against fascism and homophobia

Nestor Bakunin reports on a loud and angry protest.

Rennard and the culture of sexism

Estelle Cooch writes on the Rennard scandal and its lessons The Liberal Democrat party inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment against Lord Christopher Rennard – and how it ended – have been headline news for a week. The inquiry found there was credible evidence of “behaviour which violated the personal space and autonomy of the […]

No to Pinkwashing reports on today’s protest

No to Pinkwashing campaigns against the Israeli PR tactic of using claims about their record on LGBT issues to present Israel as a defender of human rights. They held a protest in central London today: We had called the protest after Gay Star News invited the Israeli Tourist Board to their Beach Party, an LGBT […]

London says no to new Spanish abortion law

Around 40 people joined a protest yesterday outside the Spanish embassy in London in solidarity with those in Spain opposing the new anti-abortion law there.