post marxist feminist reading on the progress

Upon studying F. Sionil’s short story “The Progress”, my initial reaction was that the characters where explained based on the stereotypes of Filipino functioning citizens. The author was able to spotlight common Philippine economic complications. However , a female portrays the role of the breadwinner, instead of the usual guy character. Flotta Salcedo, a government worker from the province who has worked for 20 years, experienced oppression in her male focused work place. The author was not specific with Marina’s character, but rather, described her stereotypically rather; focusing on any potential problems and tasks of Filipino women inside the society.

Although Filipino girls have come to level with the functioning class world, there are still tips of their marginality, whenever and wherever a person is of higher rank than them.

Most of F. Sionil Jose’s history depicts economic and social issues. Learning his works in a Marxist approach is incredibly relevant, since he himself also is designed for equal rights in the hands of the economic analysts, the government, and in the different social classes in the Thailand; he produces only targeting social rights and change to better the lives of common Filipino people.

 F. Sionil Jose is one of the the majority of widely-read Philippine writers inside the English language. He provides written a number of novels, brief stories, and essays (some of them are becoming studied in literary classes, and/or for thesis/dissertation papers). Jose was born in Rosales, Pangasinan, the setting of many of his stories.

He is currently a columnist in a national newspapers company in the area. This study aims to determine the cause of oppression of women in the working school society. It is analyzed within a Post-Marxist Feminist approach, focusing on Heidi Hartmann’s ‘dual systems’ stance upon patriarchy and capitalism. Sexual division between men and women is usually analyzed through this study, centering on answering Marxist standpoints to feminist concerns.

A Post-Marxist Feminism is identified as a determination to feminism that involves a vital preservation and transcendence of Marxism (Tormey, 2006: 114). Contemporary Marxist Feminists just focus more on such things as the concerns of doing work women. That they help us understand how the institution of family is associated with capitalism; just how women’s home work is definitely trivialized and never considered “real work: and basically just how women get the most unfulfilling, boring, and low-paying jobs. These are every offered as partial details for gender oppression.

Post-Marxist approach is used in this examine, rather than staying with Marxist way alone, since it moves away from the traditional Marxist perspective from the upper/lower course base differentiation, or inequality of electrical power in the society. Post-Marxism restates and revises Althusserian and/or Foucauldian ideas, and, unlike the traditional Marxism, that highlights the top priority of class struggle and prevalent humanity of oppressed teams, these scholars all expose social life’s sexual, racial, class, and ethnic categories and progressive import (Goldstein, 2005: 2).

Marxist-feminist way on the other hand is known as a sub-type of feminist theory– among a great many other types – which concentrates on the taking out of capitalism as a way of liberating girls. Marxist-Feminist evaluation evolved like a feminist-inspired evaluate of the weak points of traditional Marxist approaches to the ‘women’s question’ in respect to Cecilia Sardenberg (Sardemnerg, 1994). The lady views Marxist categories since ‘sex-blind’ and thus incapable of handling the examination of gender-related issues, experts such as Heidi Hartmann and Z. Eisenstein (who contact themselves ‘socialist feminists’) asserted for a mixture of Marxist and feminist theory, coining the word ‘capitalist patriarchy’.

My examine will give attention to Heidi Hartmann’s famous ‘dual systems’ thesis, which placed that both equally capitalism and patriarchy is liable for women’s oppression, allowing for some type of ‘cultural’ patriarchal autonomy in the economic base (Tormey, 06: 114).

Capitalist societies, by simply definition, will be based upon the private title of the method of production; the production process itself involved two major sociable classes: the Bourgeoisie who own the means of production, and the property-less Proletariat (Holborn, 2012). The relationship among these two sociable classes is located upon the profits of the Bourgeoisies. They have the strength to control the wages of the Proletariat, generally amounting to less than the significance of goods and services which the Proletariats actually produce; fermage is another way to think about how capitalism works, an unjust system which creates social inequality and low income for an incredible number of members with the Proletariat.

The storyline depicts a modern capitalist world, making sure that laborers/employees are desperate enough to be employed by poor wages. The story identifies how Marina, even after working for twenty years, is not able to spend less because the selling price of everything keeps going up. Your woman experiences the standard Filipino concerns, like determining how the girl can afford sending her children to college and paying the mortgage loan at the same time. Your woman even provides packed pig chop, hard boiled eggs, and toast rice to avoid buying lunch time; most of the time the girl walks to work instead of riding a tricycle to save a little.

The federal government itself plays a part in the system of capitalism inside the story. Just like the law of supply and demand, the greater available personnel or staff fitted to do a particular work, the much less an employer will need to pay all of them for their work (Cyprus, 2012). Marina that is already tenured in her job being a Senior Clerk in the Ministry (a job position anyone can simply apply for, and maybe is replaceable anytime), can be expecting to have her program for advertising approved – which is five years past due.

The higher officials in the govt procrastinates their particular job in approving work promotions so that the employees themselves will give in even thinking of having their very own salaries improved. Marina retains on going back to her supervisor for an update of her application; eventually, her employer tells her that she could have to go to Manila in order to have it prepared faster. A choice that isn’t very likely to happen which is risky for anyone who has less money saved, but Marina makes a decision that the girl should go because it is for the better.

Sex division is represented through the roles from the men and women inside the story. The Clerk position is described several times, inside the character of Marina and her feminine co-workers. Yacht club also experienced a female clerk when she was at Manila. Opposite towards the roles of the female in the story will be those of the men. The boss of Flotta is a guy, and the Primary that this wounderful woman has to go through to get approval of her software is also a man. There is a sense of patriarchy in the tale proving that men are engaged with larger paying careers than the females.

Patriarchy is usually defined by simply Hartmann as being a set of social relations between men, which have a materials base, and which, although hierarchical, build or make interdependence and solidarity amongst men that enabled them to dominate females (Hartmann, 1981: 175). The lady explains that although males of different classes, races, or ethnic teams have different places in patriarchy, they also happen to be united in their shared romance of dominance over all their women; they can be depended to each other to maintain that domination.

Marina’s boss uses his situation to acquire what he wants by her by causing her buy him a pair of Levi’s trousers and Gabardine (an expensive type of clothing). Instances where the supervisor insists to pay as well as the clerk refuses is an all too familiar ritual that truly happens even to this time. Marina can only say ‘yes’ to her boss since, very well, he is the supervisor.

Patriarchy in the story is highly depicted upon Chief Lobo’s control over Marina’s labor status and libido. The Chief knows very well that Marina is definitely desperate to obtain her task promotion, and so, uses this kind of against her. He tells her to satisfy him at a cafe for dinner, sometime later it was that night, required her in bed with him being a favor for signing her papers. Inspite of her pleas, he gets what he wants.

Marina’s life is even now oppressed by simply men even when she returned to her province. While walking to her property, a man comes out from the dark and steels her bag (which covered the papers for her promotion). The story ends with her empty handed, and with the fear of having to go through all those negative experiences the other time.

A capitalist society determines school hierarchy and defines locations in the hierarchy, while patriarchy determines who have fills those places. The storyplot showcases a capitalist world governed simply by men as well as the men alone have the control of labor status of women. This is very well explained by Hartmann in her examine:

“The materials base of patriarchy is usually men’s control of women’s labor power; that control is maintained by simply denying females access to necessary economically effective resources through restricting women’s sexuality. Males exercise their control in receiving personal service coming from women, in not having to do housework or perhaps rear children, in having access of women’s systems for love-making, and in feeling powerful and being highly effective. ” (Hartmann, 1981: 178)

The author could depict a personality of women, certainly not solely oppressed by patriarchy, but with capitalism as well. Females continue to experience oppression since, according to Hartmann, girls are not capable of resistance; which is men’s advantage towards them (Hartman, 1981: 179). Marina’s character is a belief of common Filipina member of staff, who, despite a full-time job, could hardly cope up with all the economic requirements of the society. There is always oppression whenever she actually is faced with a worker of higher placement than hers.

Works Citied:

Tormey, Bob, and Jules Townshend. “Post-Marxist Feminism: Within just and Against Marxism. ” Key Thinkers from Important Theory to Post-Marxism. Greater london: Sage Publications, 2006

Goldstein, Philip. “Introduction: From Marxist to Post-Marxism, ” Post-Marxist Theory: An Introduction. Edited simply by Joseph Natoli. NYC: Express University of New York Press, 2005 Holborn, Marin and Liz Metallic. “Marxism and ‘the’ Friends and family. ” Earl Ham Sociology Pages. Unit 1 . Collins Publications. Internet. 4 April.

2012 Sardenberg, Cecilia. “Marxist Feminism. ” WMST-L. August year 1994. Web. four Oct. 2012 Cyprus, Sheri. “What Is usually Capitalism?. ” Wise Nerd. 25 Aug. 2012. Conjecture Corporation. Internet. 5 March 2012 Hartmann, Heidi”The Miserable Marriage of Maxism and Feminism: Toward a More Progressive Union” Ladies and Revolution: A Discussion of Disappointed Marriage of Marxism and Feminism. Edited by Lydia Sargent. U. S. A: South End, 1981

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