Half the Sky, All the Work

Women hold up half the sky.

-Mao Zedong

The subjugation of women is a topic often ignored in liberal and leftist circles alike. While both sides posture themselves as paragons of equal rights, and crusaders against the patriarchy they often do very little to understand many issues regarding women’s oppression. While both sides recognize the oppression of women, their analysis of the aspects of women’s oppression is often lacking substance. While there are many issues plaguing the status of women, one such issue that I’d like to discuss is the oft-ignored reproductive labor that many women engage in.

In a Marxist analysis of capitalism, one can understand the role that the worker places in productive labor (labor that produces a product to be sold). If we subscribe to the labor theory of value, we find that the value of a commodity is determined by the amount of socially necessary labor time. In simple terms, the labor put into a product will make the product more valuable. This simple concept does not negate capitalism in its entirety, as capitalist theorists like David Ricardo and Adam Smith formulated the basis for Marx’s theory. Understanding this is important to understand the importance of reproductive labor.

Going further into Marx’s theories, we can take the idea of the labor being the commodity of the proletariat (worker). Wage Labour and Capital discuss this in full, as it states:

....wages are the sum of money paid by the capitalist for a particular labour time for a particular output of labor.

Marx goes further in his analysis and finds that:

Labour power is, therefore, a commodity by which its possessor, the wage-worker, sells to capital.

Essentially, a worker will sell their labor to a business owner in exchange for a wage. In the same way, one can sell materials to a firm in exchange for money, the working man will sell their labor to a business owner in exchange for a wage. The perception of this transaction leads to labor power’s description as a simple commodity. A wage pays for labor as a carpenter would pay for wood. While this aspect of Marxist analysis forms the basis for many other theories, it is also incredibly important to the analysis of reproductive labor.

By taking the concept that labor put into a commodity will make the commodity more valuable, and synthesizing it with the concept of labor as a commodity, one can find that the labor put into creating labor power is integral to the functions of capitalism. The labor that is put into making labor power is referred to as reproductive labor.

Reproductive labor stretches from feeding a child, to teaching a child, to disciplining a child. It covers many different roles, however, the one most associated with reproductive labor is housework. Housework, like teaching or practicing medicine, will provide labor towards the labor power of their child. The important difference is that housework does not receive a wage. Despite the incredibly important role that home-keeping plays in capitalism, it does not receive supplements.

This relates to women’s oppression, as due to the role that patriarchy has put on society, they are more likely to be the home keepers that add value to labor power. The labor power that later goes into creating the products that flood the markets of modern society is almost entirely cultivated through domestic labor. Reproductive labor acts as one of the most important cogs in the capitalist mode of production, yet it goes unnoticed. Despite housework having a 7-day work week, and an over 8-hour workday, it is treated as a joke. The “stay-at-home-mom” is a trope that acts as a punching bag for many, despite the incredibly important role it plays in society. Reproductive labor, a hallmark of women’s oppression, continues to go unnoticed to this day.

In the early 1970s, a movement began that advocated for reform regarding the importance of housework came about. Called, The International Wages for Housework Campaign, this grassroots campaign advocated for those who engaged in solely domestic labor to earn a wage for their work. Inspired heavily by Marxist-Feminist theorist Mariarosa Dalla Costa, and Silvia Federici, this movement advocated for reproductive labor to be treated in a similar way to wage labor, as that would lessen the division between men and women in society. This movement gained traction, however, nowadays, popularity has faltered.

The importance of reproductive labor in capitalism is incredible, and Mao’s dictum remains true; women really do hold up half of the sky. Without the reproductive labor that many women engage in, our society would not function properly. This is not to say that women out to stay inside of the household, however, it is saying that people should become more aware of the importance of reproductive labor, and appreciate it more.

#philosophy #feminism