Women & Industrialization (was Re: capitalist patriarchy)

Michael Hoover hoov at freenet.tlh.fl.us
Fri Sep 15 18:52:21 PDT 2000



> Feminist contributions to labor history tell us that the first wage
> laborers at the beginning of the "industrial revolution" in the most
> crucial industry were often predominantly female, not male, textile
> workers. (Even mining was not the all male or predominantly male
> industry either.)
> Yoshie

Marx, in _Capital_, vol. 1, cites speech by Lord Ashley during 1844 Ten Hours' Factory Bill: "Mr. E., a manufacturer, informs me that he employed females exclusively at his power looms...and gives a decided preference to maried females, especially those who have families at home dependent on them for support; they are attentive and docile, more so than unmarried females, and are compelled to use their utmost exertions to procure the necessaries of life. (Int'l. Pub., 1967, p. 402, fn2)

KM, in same volume, notes that English women were "no longer employed undergound" after 1842. They continued, however, to do various work on the surface. (p. 499) Michael Hoover



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list