Actually Existing Socialism What Has Socialism Ever Done For Women? w/ Julia Mead
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Jun 6, 2022 Julia Mead, co-author of 'What Has Socialism Ever Done For Women?', discusses the achievements of socialist feminism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, including abortion rights and women's unions. The podcast explores the impact of the October Revolution on women's emancipation, the influence of socialist texts on Eastern European social states, the challenges faced in early Soviet Union, the concept of freedom under socialism, shifting gender roles, and the benefits experienced by women in state socialist countries.
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Abortion Policy As State Strategy
- The USSR legalized abortion in 1920 largely for population management and social crisis reasons rather than modern bodily-autonomy rhetoric.
- It was later outlawed in 1936 for population-growth priorities, showing shifting state goals.
The Double Burden Under Socialism
- State socialism created a widespread double burden: mandatory employment plus primary domestic responsibility for women.
- This resembled modern neoliberal pressures but with different institutional supports and constraints.
Combine Inside-And-Outside Organizing
- Use state institutions to secure lasting reforms by building women’s wings inside government agencies.
- Organize both inside and outside the state to win implementable policies, says Julia Mead.