The document calls for the establishment of a proletarian feminist movement in Montreal to unite working women and others from diverse backgrounds around a shared manifesto and principles of struggle. It argues that existing feminism has become detached from real struggles and no longer addresses the material realities of women, especially the most exploited and oppressed. A new movement is needed that recognizes differences between women and links the fight for women's liberation to the broader struggle against capitalist and imperialist exploitation.
The document calls for the establishment of a proletarian feminist movement in Montreal to unite working women and others from diverse backgrounds around a shared manifesto and principles of struggle. It argues that existing feminism has become detached from real struggles and no longer addresses the material realities of women, especially the most exploited and oppressed. A new movement is needed that recognizes differences between women and links the fight for women's liberation to the broader struggle against capitalist and imperialist exploitation.
The document calls for the establishment of a proletarian feminist movement in Montreal to unite working women and others from diverse backgrounds around a shared manifesto and principles of struggle. It argues that existing feminism has become detached from real struggles and no longer addresses the material realities of women, especially the most exploited and oppressed. A new movement is needed that recognizes differences between women and links the fight for women's liberation to the broader struggle against capitalist and imperialist exploitation.
A call from the Montreal Revolutionary & Proletarian Feminist Front
TO FIGHT, WE NEED PROLETARIAN FEMINISM !
On
November
30
to
December
1,
Montreal
will
hold
the
First
Conference
for
a
Proletarian
Feminist
Movement.
We
are
calling
for
a
dynamic
movement
that
unites
a
multitude
of
groups
and
collectives
according
to
common
principles
and
objectives
of
struggle.
For
this
inaugural
conference,
we
invite
working
women
of
all
ages
and
of
diverse
origins,
indigenous
women,
women
who
are
unemployed
as
well
as
poor
students,
queer
and
trans
proletarians,
to
discuss
and
vote
on
a
draft
manifesto.
This
manifesto
will
serve
as
the
basis
of
unity
for
the
establishment
of
proletarian
feminist
groups
across
Canada,
whether
they
are
organized
on
a
neighbourhood,
city
or
regional
basis.
We
believe
that
there
is
an
urgent
need
to
consolidate
and
unite
the
women
of
the
proletariat
and
their
allies
in
recognizing
the
material
reality
of
the
class
struggle,
and
thus
the
need
to
link
the
struggle
for
women's
liberation
with
the
struggle
against
capitalist
and
imperialist
exploitation.
This
is
what
we
mean
by
proletarian
feminism.
Whether
or
not
we
engage
with
the
current
debate
among
feminists
on
the
"secularism"
of
the
Quebec
Charter
of
Values,
the
question
of
sexual
exploitation
and
prostitution,
the
recent
elections
in
Canada,
where
women
now
lead
the
5
richest
provinces
in
this
country
while
more
and
more
women
are
falling
into
poverty
at
the
same
time,
these
facts
are
catching
up
with
us.
Profound
differences
in
the
material
realities
of
women
exist,
and
these
determine
the
degree
to
which
women
are
willing
to
fight,
in
one
way
or
another,
for
a
fundamental
change
in
the
existing
order.
It
is
primarily
this
will
to
change
the
existing
order
that
must
unite
us
in
fighting
to
the
bitter
end
for
the
emancipation
of
all
women,
particularly
the
most
exploited
and
oppressed
among
us.
Currently,
no
real
feminist
movement
exists
in
the
political
arena.
For
the
past
20
years,
feminism
mainly
existed
in
forms
of
services
or
lobbying
groups,
in
official
institutions,
in
academia
and
among
petty
bourgeois
currents,
but
seldom
did
feminism
exist
in
actual
struggle.
To
quote
the
American
sociologist,
Barbara
Epstein:
"Feminism
today
has
become
more
of
an
idea
than
a
movement,
and
one
that
lacks
the
visionary
quality
it
once
had."
And
it
is
precisely
because
this
"historical"
feminism,
which
sought
to
unify
all
women
on
the
sole
basis
of
gender
without
regard
for
any
other
condition,
has
reached
the
limits
of
what
it
can
offer
that
we
are
calling
for
the
creation
of
a
new
movement.
This
movement
would
apply
to
the
multiple
realities
of
women
in
the
imperialist
world
today,
to
the
capitalist
reality
in
a
rich
country
like
Canada.
We are reminded of the imperialist nature of Canada:
where
indigenous
women
more
than
anyone
else
,
continue
to
live
in
unspeakably
poor
conditions
and
are
being
killed
every
day
while
nobody
cares
about
it;
where
Canada
supports
and
participates
in
unjust
wars
of
domination;
where
companies
flourish
by
exploiting
women
here
and
elsewhere,
destroying
and
killing
them
every
day,
forcing
hundreds
of
millions
of
women
to
migrate,
and
thus
profoundly
transforming
their
lives
and
those
of
their
families;
where
the
global
economic
crisis
exacerbates
the
vulnerability
of
the
poor,
where
women
are
in
the
vast
majority:
they
form
the
majority
among
those
earning
minimum
wage,
the
majority
of
those
working
part- time
jobs,
the
majority
as
single
parents;
where
the
meagre
gains
in
social
housing
,
education
and
health
are
constantly
under
attack
,
where
living
conditions
are
further
deteriorating,
particularly
among
women
with
disabilities,
elderly
women
or
single
parents;
where
prostitution,
sexual
exploitation
and
sex
trafficking
are
being
trivialized;
where
violence
against
women
(whether
verbal,
physical,
psychological)
is
part
of
our
daily
lives;
where
sexism
is
displayed
full-page
in
advertising,
media
and
TV
shows;
where,
in
social
reality,
even
if
it
becomes
more
complex,
the
class
that
has
everything
continues
to
oppose
the
class
that
has
nothing;
where
the
class
that
exploits
us
also
includes
women,
women
who
are
leading
political
parties,
governments,
and
financial
empires
such
as
Walmart
,
Laurentian
Bank,
Sunlife
Financial,
Suncor
Energy,
the
Federation
of
Chambers
of
Commerce,
the
Desjardins
Group;
Apparently
nothing
has
changed
for
proletarian
women,
even
with
the
replacement
of
male
exploiters
by
female
exploiters...
For
those
among
us
promoting
proletarian
feminism,
the
struggle
for
women's
liberation
is
inseparable
from
the
general
political
struggle
against
capitalism
and
for
peoples
power,
that
is
to
say,
for
proletarian
power!
These
go
hand
in
hand.
One
cannot
exist
without
the
other.
Revolutionary
or
anti-capitalist
organizations
require
the
participation
of
proletarian
women
in
the
struggle
to
transform
society.
If
we
want
to
fight
for
a
socialist,
egalitarian
society
that
is
free
of
exploitation,
then
women
are
at
the
forefront!
Similarly,
a
feminist
movement,
even
a
proletarian
one,
can't
transform
society
without
fully
participating
in
building
a
revolutionary
movement
to
fight
against
capitalism.
A place for education, organization and struggle In
order
for
these
women
to
participate
in
a
revolutionary
project,
we
need
organizations
made
for
them,
where
they
can
not
only
transform
themselves
through
struggle,
but
also
take
effective
measures
to
stop
oppressive
and
sexist
behaviours
around
them.
We
need
places
where
women
can
freely
express
themselves,
speak
about
their
oppression
or
the
violence
they
are
subjected
to,
where
women
can
learn
to
be
assertive,
to
discuss
politics
and
to
fight
on
equal
footing
with
men.
Women
must
defend
their
right
to
assert
themselves,
to
fight
and
to
participate
fully,
to
organize
and
develop
their
leadership
in
the
struggle.
These
are
the
goals
for
the
kind
of
proletarian
feminist
group
we
are
calling
for.
At this inaugural conference we call on
women to unite around A MANIFESTO FOR A PROLETARIAN FEMINIST MOVEMENT.
We want to build new proletarian feminist fronts,
groups or collectives:
that
will
mobilize,
in
an
openly
anti-capitalist
and
class-oriented
perspective,
women
of
all
diverse
origins,
employed
or
unemployed,
queer
and
trans
women,
and
any
women
activists
committed
to
fighting
against
all
the
specific
oppressions,
including
gender,
sexuality,
and
race;
that
will
develop
through
investigation
and
discussion,
demands
that
meet
the
specific
needs
of
women
in
their
communities;
that
will
fight
through
political
action
(demos,
calls,
rallies,
actions
of
all
kinds)
against
any
attack
on
women's
rights
from
a
class
perspective;
that
will
educate
themselves
about
the
general
political
struggle
by
actively
supporting,
by
establishing
alliances,
or
by
joining
political
organizations
that
advocate
proletarian
feminism,
by
fighting
against
capitalism
and
for
a
new
society;
that
will
lead
the
struggle
for
proletarian
feminism
and
its
program
for
women's
liberation
into
becoming
an
essential
part
of
the
general
program
of
revolutionary
organizations
fighting
against
capitalism
and
imperialism;
that
will
initiate
events
and
actions
this
coming
March
8,
International
Women's
Day,
or
to
mobilize
in
great
numbers
for
planned
activities
in
order
to
make
proletarian
feminism
in
action
as
visible
as
possible!
!
!
YOU ARE INVITED TO THE
FIRST CONFERENCE FOR A PROLETARIAN FEMINIST MOVEMENT Saturday November 30 and Sunday, December 1st, 2013, In Montreal
To confirm your participation or interest in participating, please contact ledrapeaurouge@yahoo.ca or leave a message at the Maison Norman Bethune, 514-563-1487. An
invitation
from
the
Proletarian
&
Revolutionary
Feminist
Front,
Montreal
Along
with
activists
of
the
Revolutionary
Communist
Party
November
2013