Women's Reproductive Labor-- How Valuable Is It?

While liberal feminism does not implicitly question the causes of gender inequality in Western society, socialist feminism combines such an analysis with political economy arguments. Clara Zetkin, a member of the Social Democratic party and the founder of the International Socialist Women1s Congress in 1907, stated that "If we wish women to be free human beings, to have the same rights as men our society,women1s work must be neither abolished nor limited except in certain quite isolated cases."

Rosemarie Tong has asserted that socialist feminism is "the result of Marxist feminism1s dissatisfaction with the essentially gender-blind character of Marxist thought." Socialist feminist Allison Jaggar has therefore expanded Karl Marx1s theory of the alienation of labor to include the alienation of women from processes such as their reproductive labor, which has been taken over in large part by male obstetricians. The reconciliation of women and their reproductive labor that socialist feminists envision would generally be beneficial to breastfeeding practices. So would the specific social changes socialists have proposed, changes such as the use of midwives, flexible working hours, and maternity and paternity leaves.

In many societies, production is still considered from a traditionally male perspective, and is valued only if it results in a cash income. Women1s reproductive labor, in contrast, is often under-valued and unsupported by society as a whole. Liberal feminism continues to make important advances toward the full and equal inclusion of women in the public work force. All mothers, though, can be especially grateful for social feminism1s acknowledgement of the importance of unpaid reproductive work, such as giving birth, breastfeeding and child rearing.

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