(en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL #238 - Viewpoint: Two visions of feminism (fr, pt)

Increasing violence calls for collective response of all feminist forces. Requires a 
response that exceeded the institutional feminism embodied by the National Collective for 
women's rights and could be embodied by the collective "March 8 for all." ----
On March 8 there was, for the world day of struggle for women's rights, two events in 
Paris: one organized primarily by the National Collective for Women's Rights (CNDF), the 
other by the group of "March 8 for all" which brought together several thousand people 
each. It seemed important to us to be present in the street that day, it seemed to us 
afterwards that we were taken in an unsatisfactory alternative. As radical feminists and 
libertarian we are not satisfied with the current situation.

March 8 so we had to choose between two events. That of CNDF which is composed of several 
associations, parties (Left Front, satellites PS, a branch of NPA...) and feminist 
organizations whose leaders are part of an institutional and reformist feminism for which 
lobbying is elected preferred choice of control. We had not really appreciated beyond the 
reformist side slogans, authoritarianism prevailing in unit meetings. The "old guard" is 
its place and not let himself shake especially in his conception of feminism, mostly white 
and Republican, which goes pretty well with the media and elected officials. We fight for 
gender equality but capitalism and respecting the rules of liberal democracy.

Breaking the deadlock

The other event, that of the "March 8 for all" was more radical because it included 
multiple processions undocumented libertarians, of antifa, for Palestine, LGBT 
associations, sex workers and that a representation of a branch of the NPA. This event has 
attracted all these collective meetings because organizations were more democratic and 
less exclusionary than the CNDF and they were accompanied by a real field work. Provided 
the watchwords of the call were very general and not focused on individual empowerment. 
This strategy was chosen to allow the collective consensus and talk about their own 
claims. But it does not seem satisfactory as a radical feminism must be a global struggle 
against patriarchy and capitalism.

At the head of the manifestation of the "March 8 for all" there was Strass, a union of sex 
workers claiming the recognition of sex work as a job like any other. Beyond the debates 
that we can have on prostitution, AL being abolitionist, which has been a problem is that 
the head of this event a corporatist union is emphasized at the expense of women's groups 
fighting for the overall change in the society.

The separation between these two demos which, in previous years, demonstrating together or 
attempted to do so, shows how today, the extreme left and the left seem to fight over two 
recurring themes: prostitution and Islamic veil. Indeed, for several years that every 
March 8, the Strass and veiled women are systematically repress manifestations of CNDF, 
forcibly. Thus pushing the collective "March 8 for all", where Strass involved in 
organizing this year's event apart from the one organized by the CNDF. But how to reach 
beyond this caesura that seems to be widening between these two visions of feminism?

It's time to get out of the impasse and the false divide between particularist and 
universalist fight fight. We need to articulate both, and beyond this cleavage in our 
claims and our struggles. A bit like FHAR (Gay Front revolutionary action) for homosexual 
struggles in the 1970s who would have laughed at us when they saw us down the street to 
gay marriage last year on behalf of equal rights while marriage is an institution 
retrograde patriarchal domination and heterosexual.

Fight against gender-based violence

Radical feminism is fighting independently against all institutions and fight equally 
against systems of domination and exploitation that are patriarchy and capitalism. But it 
is more than necessary to fight, when today despite the rhetoric and good intentions, 
sexist and misogynist violence, both physical and symbolic, are stronger than ever.

Of feminist AL