Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol 40 No. 23. September 12 1977

Women's Place in Society - Past and Present

Women's Place in Society - Past and Present

The struggle for equality is turning out as a long and hard one. There are urgent issues facing the women's movement today. The fight for the democratic right to have abortions; the fight for decent childcare; the fight against the blatant sexism of the mass media; the fight for the right of women to work and to be eligible for unemployment benefit if this right is denied them; the list goes on and on. In too many areas we in the movement have seen past gains stolen from us, or distorted beyond recognition. The Royal Commission gives us a report which sounds like an abridged version of a SPUC manifesto; the Domestic Purposes Benefit is cut back with the intention of forcing women into Bert Walker's private moral code; the right to vote which women were imprisoned for has been a poor weapon against the financial and political power of big business as it takes our rights with one hand and forces down our living standards with the other.

In order to fight against these moves, we must formulate a strategy based on our position in society now, However, to fully understand our present situation, it is necessary to look at women's position throughout the different stages of society.

The History of Woman's Oppression

In primitive society, before the advent of civilisation as we know it, people lived together in tribes. There was no such thing as monogamy but a form of group marriage instead in which it was impossible to identify the fathers of children. Ancestry was therefore traced through the women and thus gave them a prized position in their society. Men and women were considered as equal though this is not to deny that they performed different tasks. It was the man that went out hunting; the women stayed around the camp engaged in primitive agriculture and breeding domestic animals as well as bearing children. It was the last occupation that (inked the scope of women as far as hunting went—they were frequently pregnant and the children were often sick.

Development of Monogamy

As time passed there were limits placed on the form of group marriage that predominated. Marriages between cousine, between parents and children, between brothers and sisters were gradually prohibited as they produced a poorer stock. A form of pairing family slowly evolved. At the same time techniques of production developed. There was the introduction of cattle breeding, the use and adaption of metals, weaving and field cultivation. The tribe passed from the stage of complete subsistence production, gradually making more then was needed to just survive. There was the beginning of division in order to specialise some people or groups concentrating on one area, some on another. Most significantly the concept of private property developed; no longer did the tribe own everything communually As some men became more powerful and influential because they were more skilful in hunting or farming or were better warriors they began to make private claims. With improved production techniques and more property some men became comparatively richer—and other did not. There were now substantial divisions between men based on their relation to the means of production.

Where were the women while all this went on? The very important role that women played in providing a stable food supply while men went out hunting in search of game was overtaken by more advanced methods of production which the men controlled. Their loss of equality in the economic field was soon matched socially. Because of the type of group marriage that prevailed those men who had property could not pass it down to their own children. Instead it was passed on to members of his group—his brothers and sisters and to his sisters children and descendants. To stop the tracing of lineage through the mother monogamy was developed. In a monogamous relationship a woman could only have intercourse with her husband and therefore the children she bore would assuredly be his. In this way the central role women had in society was completely changed. This singled the emergence of the family as we know it.

Chaining of Women to the Home

From then until now the man has been the breadwinner and as such the head of the household. The woman's primary role has been to have his children although at times, especially in families that are less well off, she too has had to work to get the basic necessities. As women have entered social production they have realised their particular exploitation. To free men for their role in social production, women have served as unpaid housekeepers—providing the meals, keeping the home clean, doing the washing and so on. This is seen as inferior work, lowering the dignity of man if he is called upon to do it. Her work is socially necessary, but is unpaid and has no value in capitalism.

The children understand the power relationship in the family, the supremacy of male over female, and thus these attitudes are handed down across the generations. The womans role, with all its contradictions, is reflected in the general culture and beliefs of society. For example in the 13th century the same society that sanctified motherhood also disputed whether women had a soul. Similarly today, the Catholic church which has recently reaffirmed their opposition to women entering the priesthood nevertheless thinks that even women who have been raped or are poor can heroically overcome their problems and give an unplanned baby the care it needs.

It is obvious that this state of affairs benefits certain people. The employers in this country have not used the power and wealth they possess to help create the conditions that would increase the equality of women. Instead they have exploited womens traditionally inferior role to their own advantage. The fact that women have to take on the job of childrearing within their private houses means that the community does not have to spend the money to provide quality child care centres. It is the employers, the capitalists, who benefit most from this since they have provided themselves with a future generation of workers at the smallest possible cost. Similarly the role women take on as a housewife leads to isolation from society and from social production. This often leads to a lack of confidence on the part of the women which employers can later exploit when she reenters the workforce. Women are often scared to approach the supervisor, make a complaint, or go to the union—ideal employees!!

There is also a certain proportion of men who benefit from the status quo. Although it appears that more men are doing an equal share of the housework when both partners are working, there are still many who don't. Unfortunately there are still plenty of men who believe that a woman's place is in the home rather than out working with some financial independence.

The Rise of Class-Fall of Woman

However in raising democratic demands on these issues mentioned as well as re-educating men to adjust to womans new and equal role, the womans movement must never forget the origins of their oppression it was when private property developed and society became divided into classes that women became oppressed not only sexually but as part of a class. The concubine was not only female and exploited as such, she was also a slave. Even if we are able to see all our demands realised within the existing economic system the great majority of women would still be exploited. Is our aim to have women managers ordering the very lives of their workers, men and women? Women bosses, who exploit other peoples labour to benefit themselves? Women Prime Ministers, forcing down the standards of living of working people in order to make more profit for the employer Or do we agree with one of the speakers at the 1977 United Womens Convention who said "We are not interested in half the pie. The pie is rotten and we want to make a new one"? If the womens movement is not just interested in achieving equal oppression of all, regardless of sex, this question will have to be considered urgently and the strategy of our different organisations changed accordingly.

A United Fight Against Oppression

In the short term we face considerable difficulties. Because of the economic crisis NZ is in, the employers and the National Government are attempting to force down the standard of the majority of people. For women this means high prices, low wages, possible redundancy, a crisis in childcare faculties and benefits being cut. There is also a disturbing trend towards Fascism we must face up to—the intimidation of solo mothers and the industrial laws passed last year are just two examples of this. As well, the Government seems determined to blame all the ills of the present day scene on the breakdown of the modern family. This is aimed at getting women to leave the work force voluntarily and by doing so lessening the redundancy and childcare problem, at least in the Governments eyes.

It is important that the movement unite as many women as possible to take up these issues in the short term, and in the long term to work towards a society where there is no exploitation if any person, man or woman, whether it be on the grounds of class, or race, or sex.

—Dale Steele

THE HOME DOOR MULDOON GOVERMENT