Two weeks ago, the
Socialist Feminist Working Group of Philadelphia DSA hosted a gathering of 200 leftist feminists from all over the U.S. It was the first explicitly socialist feminist national convergence in this country since 1975, when
more than 1500 women gathered in Yellow Springs, Ohio for the first National Socialist Feminist Conference. Is socialist feminism making a comeback? As recent events concerning the
International Socialist Organization and
Worker's World Party illustrate, it is certainly badly needed.
For May, 2019, KPFA Women's Magazine is excited to bring you a selection of interviews Lisa Dettmer and Kate Raphael conducted on Socialist Feminism in February of this year. Included in this sampling are authors Elana Dykewomon (
Beyond the Pale), Helen Zia (
Last Boat Out of Shanghai), Tithi Bhattacharya (
Feminism for the 99%; she was also the keynote speaker at the recent Philly conference), Zilla Eisenstein (
The Audacity of Races and Genders), educator Lois Helmbold and activist Leslie Cagan. They discuss the Yellow Springs conference, the resurgence of DSA, real and perceived splits between "socialists" (presumed male) and "feminists" (presumed bourgeois and white) and how women are organizing now toward a socialist future. (We'll be doing more of these interviews in the coming months.)
Click here to listen to the show. 59:50 min
We are offering the entire interviews -- more than five hours, plus two hours of archival material from the 1975 conference (the Third World panel and Lesbian panel) as a thank you gift for your donation of $75 or more to KPFA. It's a great way to support Women's Magazine and community radio, and to keep our radical feminist herstory alive.
Call 1-800-439-5732, 1-800-HEY-KPFA (handy mnemonic) or donate securely online at www.kpfa.org and ask for the Socialist Feminist Pack.
Thanks so much for all your support and thanks for listening to Women's Magazine.
