Engendered Economics

 

 

6

Class, Gender, and Culture

 

A Discussion of Marxism, Feminism, and Postmodernism

 

Ann Davis

 

 

In the development of recent feminist thought, conceptualization of the economic role of women remains elusive. Among early contributions, the exchange of women was seen as a structural element of all societies (Rubin 1975) and the foundation of solidarity among disparate kinship groups. For Hartmann (1981), gender systems and the economy are separate institutions, connected in a “partnership” between “patriarchy” and capitalism. For example, she outlines the ways in which patriarchy modified capitalism, such as with the exclusion of women and children from the wage labor force in the early years of industrialization (19–25). This analysis ...