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marxist feminism uses marxism as an analytical weapon to re-examine the value of unpaid domestic labor such as childbirth and housework, which is ignored by men under the domination of masculinity. however, i think that when we raise the question of "who pays for the unpaid labor of housewives, the state or the enterprise", we blur the most critical "women's liberation".

if the housewife's "unpaid labor" is paid by her husband's company, it means that the company's exploitation of workers will become more harsh and clever than before, and employees will be further trapped by the company because they seize the weakness of the family.

if the state pays for "unpaid labor," it means that the money comes from taxes. in this way, single women and male workers will pay more taxes than married men, and they will have to do all the housework themselves. married women will also pay more taxes, and they will have to work twice or three times as hard to take care of the family.

in any case, the only beneficiaries of "unpaid labor" are always the male employees who enjoy the housewives' labor; further, the biggest beneficiaries are actually the companies that exploit their employees' labor to the fullest.

obsessing over "the company or the country" will only make working women suffer the most in the end. in other words, this is a mechanism that the more you blame the company, the more it benefits. in addition, when the attack is directed at the company and the capitalist system, individual men will react as if it is none of their business, and will further promote the marriage system of "unpaid housewives". women are not liberated at all.

norwegian women's groups also face the same problem on another level. in 1989, when i (yoko tajima) was the representative secretary of the japan women's association, i was invited to attend a meeting whose goal was to urge the united nations to include housewives' housework in the gnp (gross national product). "even if it is not actually paid, it is hoped that it can be included in the gnp" to show respect for women.

stills from "home on the hill"

however, wouldn't this really be "glorifying self-sacrifice just for the sake of appearances"? in other words, the campaign is just to encourage people to recognize the merits of "good wives" on an international scale and ensure that women's self-sacrifice can be internationally certified. the final result is nothing more than continuing to maintain the status quo.

some people may think that it is good to draw the world's attention to the unpaid labor that women have been doing. however, ordinary women tend to be content with the status quo and cannot actively fight for self-liberation, so "seeking recognition" is not a good direction.

what we need in the future is a "heart that pursues equality" and "feet that are modern"

marxist feminists insist that the interaction between patriarchy and capital exacerbates women's oppression.

patriarchy is undoubtedly the culprit for oppressing women, but is capital really the culprit for oppressing women as much as patriarchy? working women in other countries, like women in japan, have to work twice or three times as hard as men just because they are women, and at the same time they have to endure the pain of domestic violence. how do you explain this reality?

i guess that many men who advocate feminism find it easier to identify the culprits of women's oppression as companies controlled by capital than to promote the democratization of their relationships with women and their families. in addition, it is not without malicious speculation that women who hold the same view may find it easier to regard "modernization" as an enemy than to go into a hostile society and work hard.

modernization has many problems, but the development of social productivity has indeed liberated many women.

feminism in japan is still in the process of development and is still in a low state, and men and women still exist in a hierarchical relationship.

enterprises controlled by capital always try to exploit the social weakness of unequal relations between men and women to squeeze money. if women do not break the gender division of labor and achieve independence, men will not be independent either.

i think what capital fears most is people who have become independent and have their own identities, that is, people who know freedom. they will not listen to the company's orders, but will criticize the company instead, and will immediately change jobs if they find better conditions. if you want to retain excellent talents, you must continuously improve their treatment.

susan george[1] issued a warning in how the other half dies: the real reasons for world hunger, calling on developed countries to "stop interfering in developing countries." she also called on the people of the third world to achieve self-reliance and "reduce their dependence on europe and the united states, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are ahead." she also pointed out that even if a campaign to "eat one less hamburger" was launched in life, it would only "strengthen the monopoly of the livestock industry monopolist."

i heard about an incident where a camera company read the teaching records of an elementary school and learned that the teacher was explaining to students in class how disposable batteries in cameras waste resources. the company immediately improved the way batteries were used.

because all businesses rely on word of mouth to survive.

the goal of feminism is to explore a prosperous society with democracy and no discrimination

those anti-modern feminists who criticize modern machine civilization say that after entering modern civilization, the oppression faced by women has been intensified.

the meiji era advocated "good wives and good mothers", forced women into the home, and strengthened the oppression of women through gender division of labor. this cannot be denied. our grandmothers and mothers at that time undertook heavy unpaid labor and did not even have time to rest. today's housewives are obviously much more relaxed.

this is because with the development of modernization, housewives have not only been liberated from poverty, but also the emergence of household appliances such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and rice cookers has greatly reduced the burden of housework. the resulting time and mental relaxation have begun to allow women to cultivate themselves and realize the fact that they are suppressed.

unfortunately, it is impossible for poor countries that lag behind in the modernization process to achieve women's liberation, because the poorer the economy, the more the family and even the country rely on women's self-sacrifice and unpaid labor.

a 1998 u.s. population crisis committee survey showed that hunger in africa led to high mortality rates among women and children because adult men took away their food.

it is also a widely known fact that many southeast asian women who come to japan to work do so to earn money for their families, and their earnings are all taken away by their fathers and brothers who are waiting at home.

opening the newspaper, you can often see reports of women being killed or raped by their husbands, lovers, and passing men. magazines and the media objectify women, and women themselves are trapped in the prison of domestic slavery, becoming canaries in a cage. we must not forget that whether we are housewives or working women, even empress michiko[2] and crown princess masako[3], as long as we are women, we all suffer the same discrimination.

moreover, it is difficult to see the discrimination against women. this is because discrimination against women has been highly structured, becoming a habit and custom, and integrated into nature and culture, making it difficult for both the discriminated women and the men who create discrimination to detect it. the male-centered way of thinking makes male domination possible, prompting men who regard discrimination as "natural" to structurally dominate women and objectify and privatize women. analyzing and examining this way of thinking and exploring a more democratic, fairer, more peaceful, and more relaxed harmonious society are also the issues that feminism will face in the future.

in order to help women and even men get rid of the deception and violence of a male-centered society and achieve endless freedom and equality, women must enter all areas of society with confidence, speak out as decision-makers, and guide society forward. when we truly stand at the starting line of equality where men and women each occupy half of the sky, we will surely be able to draw a completely different and better blueprint for the future.

notes:

[1] susan george: susan george was a political economist and social activist born in the united states and settled in france.

[2] the empress of the 125th emperor of japan, akihito, and the first commoner to marry into the japanese royal family. on april 30, 2019, emperor akihito abdicated. after the abdication, michiko was called the "empress emeritus".

[3] born into a family of diplomats, she was once considered a very promising female diplomat in the ministry of foreign affairs. in 1993, she married crown prince naruhito. on may 1, 2019, naruhito ascended the throne and masako became the second empress of commoner origin in japan.