Nuova DWF. Donna Woman Femme
Quaderni di studi internazionali sulla donna
Roma, Coines Edizioni, then Editrice coop. UTOPIA, 1976-1985

Working and not working, 1979, n. 12-13

BUTTAFUOCO Annarita, Preface, pp. 3-7

The author begins by remarking that "today the awareness that domestic work is one of the structuring elements of the economic and ideologic systems is shared by most women; analysing this kind of work is the starting point for a revision of economic theory as a whole". All analyses are confronted with the problem of addressing the marxist theory of work, but different groups draw different conclusions. It is usually assumed that the relationship woman-class is linked to the family, as though in this structure women and men were on a par. On the contrary, the definition of the relationship woman-class requires a rethinking and questioning of the traditional terms of marxist analysis, taking as a starting point woman herself and her own relationship with the capitalist system. Buttafuoco then discusses the request of a salary for domestic work, endorsed by a relevant part of the women's movement, underlining the serious risk of its confirming and strengthening the social role of women.

TURNATURI Gabriella, Woman between "private" and "public" at early 1900s in U.S.A, pp. 8-29

The beginning of the 20th century marks an important turning point for the transformation of the family and of women's role within the family. It also witnesses the development of a very original and dialectical relationship between "public" and "private". State as an actor in the economy, the concept of privacy, home as shelter, and home structure and dynamics as related to society grow up together in a dialectical relationship. The expansion of the State's responsibilities is accompanied by the expansion of the "private", chosen as a defence against that same public which it will contribute to strengthen. This study focuses on some of the issues which are linked with these processes of modernisation, in an attempt in particular to describe: a) how women identify themselves in this new relationship between private and public; b) which are the new women's functions and in particular how the role of housewife and of woman as consumer have evolved; c) the relationships existing between the growth of the industrial sector and the application of certain new techniques to the organisation of work in the industries (Taylorism) and the new organisation of work at home.

MALOS Ellen, Housework and the politics of women's liberation, pp. 30-62

Analysis is centered on housework, on its theoretical definition, on its implications for the social structure. In particular the author examines the claim of a sector of the feminist movement and of women in general for a salary for housework. Even though she doesn't deny its positive aspect of mobilization and incentive, as a factor towards women's awareness of the specificity of their problems, the author doesen't believe that, if the request were answered, subordination problems would radically change. While underlining the risks of a feminist battle exclusively centered on a salary for housework, a different line of action is proposed, based on the denial of working roles (as defined by gender) and on the socialization of housework, a more concrete and decisive alternative towards a transformation of the whole economic and social context and of women's situation.

MOLINEUX Maxine, The debate on housework, pp. 63-95

Analysing the theories of housework, particularly Harrison's and Delphy's, the author examines: the relationship between capitalism and housework (and the fact that housework is not necessarily functional to capitalism, even though the latter uses it to reproduce itself); the effective and latent role of women in the socialist struggle, without disregarding the different contradictions which might emerge, and the need to formulate a political economy of women. This would also point out the limits of current analyses, excessively functionalist or economically oriented. Lastly, the author analyses the flaws of a notion of women's work which only considers it in limited contexts (family/home; housewife/salaried worker), instead of relating it to the wider context of social structures. In its conclusion the essay opens up to different perspectives for a theory of the relationship between women and domestic environment.

HUMPHRIES Jane, Working class, class struggle and persistence of the family, pp. 96-121

The essay denounces the inadequacy of traditional marxist analysis of housework and the role of the family. Sketching a history of the relationship between working class family and capital, the author underlines that the family is not only an instrument of capital; on the contrary, for the working class the family institution represents a means to resist capital and to enhance the effectiveness of its struggle. This explains proletariat's protracted defense of the family. Thus the economical assumptions, in terms of class struggle, of the still prevailing sexist ideology are highlighted. Accordingly, the family, should be considered a locus where the relationship between its members can be kept out of the work market, rather than a vestige of a less developed mode of production.

BEECHEY Veronica, Capitalist production and female salaried work: some notes, pp. 122-148

The essay analyses the problems caused by traditional marxist theories on salaried work, and particularly female salaried work, beginning with Engels and the origins of female subordination, and the situation in which this subordination will cease. These theories are in fact inadequate, and the author proposes a different one which sees the family as a necessary instrument both of capital and of the working class, within a dialectical and conflictual relationship. A different interpretation of female salaried work is thus advanced, as underpaid, non specialized or semi-specialized work, concentrated in particular areas of modern industry and usually undertaken by married women.

MILKMAN Ruth, Women's labour and economic crisis: the Great Depression of the thirties, pp. 149-187

The author analyses the impact of the Great Depression of the thirties in the United States on women's labour - both unpaid domestic labour and salaried labour. The author verifies similitudes and differences with the crisis women's employment is undergoing at present and its fluctations on the labour market, and questions the generally accepted idea according to which women make up a reserve army in moments of economic expansion. In fact, data in the article show that sexual segregation within labour force renders the percentage of female employment quite steady, even though it is women who in the end carry the economic and psychchological burden of recession.

DE FIDIO Pia, Work in Ancient Greece, pp. 188-217

The work is intended to bring grist to those studies which deny that there ever existed a matriarchy "a period in which woman was free, productive and equal with man". In her examination of one particular problem - i.e. the types of feminine work and the food rations the women received as payment - the author, basing herself on Mycenean texts, compares women's work with slaves' work, and contrasts men's work, which was outside, with women's work, especially their weaving, which was almost wholly inside the house. The differences which emerge between women from differing social strata can all be attributed to "class", but the position of the aristocratic woman is not, however, all that much better than that of the woman slave. The analysis helps to an understanding of women's work as it appears in the writings of Homer, foreshadowing not only the society of Homer's day but also some aspects of Greek civilisation in the classical period.

FUSINI Nadia, Who killed Karenina?, pp. 218-260

The character of Anna Karenina is analysed and compared with other famous romantic heroines of the second half of the eighteenth century. These women exemplify the conflict between the rules of society and the role of women. Anna symbolises them and represents a moment of vivid awareness. They particularly tilt at the family as institution. They are the victims but they become the active protagonist, and they represent the possibility of radical change to a more just society, both at the personal and at the social level. Their end, which is always tragic, signifies that the repressive masculine power (of husband, or lover or master) has been reimposed, in the domestic as well as in the public sphere. History has still not overturned that power, in spite of its manifest injustice and cruelty.

SEMMEL ALBIN Rochelle, Rape: what have psychoanalists said about it?, pp. 261-276

This is not an original research, but an exam of the best-known psychoanalytical and psychological theories on the crime of rape. Most hypotheses don't consider the blame of the author of the crime, and the latter is often presented as a consequence of sexual and psychological frustrations, the responsibilty of which falls upon the women and mothers of rapists. Thus rape is considered one among other sexual crimes, and it is not seen as having any specific cultural and social traits. The first attempts at a feminist counter-analysis have different premises, and include this crime in the sphere of "political actions of power" against women, leaving the more specifically sexual aspect in the background. The notes offer a large and important bibliography.