On the socialist history of International Women's Day
Life in Socialism book
I picked up this little book for children at the Museum of Yugoslavia. Here are the pages about women’s rights.
The Korean cover
Somehow I missed the launch of the Korean edition in July, but I found the cover for the Korean translation of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence.
And in English!
The English version of my article in Le Monde Diplomatique dropped today. I am so excited that the world is learning about these remarkable women.
New Video of KU Keynote Lecture for IWD 2021 →
Dr. Kristen R. Ghodsee on the Socialist History of International Women's Day
In honor of Women's History Month 2021, KU's Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity and Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies welcomed Dr. Kristen R. Ghodsee (she/her) — author of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence — to speak on the socialist roots of International Women's Day. This recording of the event features Dr. Ghodsee's lecture followed by an audience Q&A moderated by Dr. Megan Williams (she/her), Assistant Director of Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL0DuM0xibM
Dyson Obituary reprinted in India's The Wire →
Nice to see that this one is making its way around the world
Funny Comic
Family Policies in the GDR
A great summary table in Josie McClellan’s book, Love in the Times of Communism.
The best way to read Engels...
…is to pair him with dark chocolate and red wine. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve read this book, it always boils my blood, and I need some some comfort when I get to the part about the overthrow of the mother right.
A new cover for the Dutch version
I’m so thrilled for the Dutch translation of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism or "Waarom vrouwen betere seks hebben onder het socialisme,” and love their cover redesign.
With Lisa Armstrong and Wang Zheng at the 1st Global Socialist Feminism conference
We pulled it off! After a year of logistics and organizing, we had over 35 women from around the world in Ann Arbor for a meeting on Global Socialist Feminism.
Summer reading: Feminism for the 99%
“The division between profit-making and people-making points to a deep-seated tension at the heart of capitalist society. While capital strives systemically to increase profits, working-class people strive, conversely, to lead decent and meaningful lives as social beings. These are fundamentally irreconcilable goals, for capital’s share of accumulation can only increase at the expense of our share in the life of society. Social practices that nourish our lives at home, and social services that nurture our lives outside of it, constantly threaten to cut into profits. Thus, a financial drive to reduce those costs and an ideological drive to undermine such labors are endemic to the system as a whole”
- Arruzza, Bhattacharya, and Fraser, Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto, page 71
The weather is warming up, and that means it's time to travel to Spain, France, and California
Well, at least to pretend that I am traveling to Spain, France, and California through an assortment of rosé wines from my local state-owned and operated Fine Wines & Good Spirits. Indeed, all of the stores selling wine and spirits in the state of Pennsylvania are owned by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Given that 50% of the profits in the alcohol industry are generated through retail sales, opponents of the state control of retail alcohol profits have been trying to force Pennsylvania to privatize the state-run wine and liquor stores for years. They have consistently failed.
it’s nice to know that every time I drink a glass of rosé, I am supporting the state budget of Pennsylvania!
Finished reading "Make Way for Winged Eros"
For those of you interested in the works of Alexandra Kollontai and her views on sexuality, I finally finished reading the final part of her 1923 essay, "Make Way for Winged Eros: A Letter to Working Youth" for my A.K. 47 podcast. I’ll be discussing it in depth during my next episode, but make sure you listen to the whole essay before you listen to the discussion.
My column in The New Republic →
Here is my latest salvo against American-led regime change and the inequality that economic liberalization brings.
A Nice Write-Up in the Mumbai Mirror →
It’s always a surprise to find these international articles about the book. This one in the Mumbai Mirror.
Love this meme.
This explains the basic state of the dialogue about socialism in the United States right now.
The East German Birth Strike
I found this interesting article about the “womb strike” of the early 1990s in Eastern Germany.
From a Slovak-American Newspaper circa 1910
One of my former students stumbled across this article in a Slovak-American newspaper in the archives at the University of Chicago. I love this quote: “[Socialists] maintain that freed from marital yoke and from oppression of male morality woman will develop and grow.”
Yep, pretty much…
Ok, now I'm convinced...
This helpful table, provide by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) today, has convinced me finally that socialism would be a terrible idea. We might get health care, education, and public transport, but look how much more we will pay for owning a Ford pickup truck. It’s a slam du(mb)k argument.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/cea-report-opportunity-costs-socialism/
