Feminism as a Class Act: Working-Class Feminism and the Women's Movement in Canada

Abstract

There is a widespread claim that the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s was middle-class and that its politics of reforming the state reflected the concerns of middle-class women. This paper challenges that claim, arguing instead that the development of the women's movement created an environment in which a union-based, working-class feminism became an important political factor. Working-class and socialist-feminist activists developed a strong feminist presence in the labour movement and a significant working-class orientation in the women's movement that both continue to influence the current women's movement. Resume Il existe une opinion generale que le mouvement feministe des annees 1960 et 1970 etait de la classe moyenne et que ses politiques de reforme de l'Etat ne refletaient que les inquietudes des femmes de la classe moyenne. Cet article met en doute cette opinion et constate qu'au contraire, la facon dont le mouvement feministe s'est developpe permettait de creer un environnement dans lequel le feminisme de la classe ouvriere et d'origine syndicale devenait une force politique importante. Les activistes feministes et socialistes ont assure a la fois une forte presence feministe dans le mouvement syndical et une orientation ouvriere remarquable dans le mouvement feministe qui, a l'heure actuelle, continue a l'influencer.