40: LA Teachers; Women’s March; Holly Lewis on The Politics of Everybody

January 16, 2019

In this episode, we talk to Holly Lewis about her book The Politics of Everybody: Feminism, Queer Theory and Marxism at the Intersection (http://bit.ly/LewisEverybody). We talk about what Holly means when she argues that “the politics of the fragment should be replaced by an inclusive politics of everybody.”

In our interview, we explore some of the debates and discussions around homonormativity, how to build a trans-inclusive feminism and queer theory. We revisit social reproduction theory and talk about its implications for gender politics and trans liberation. Holly gives a clear overview about the different theoretical approaches to gender politics in Marxism, queer theory and feminist theory and explores the connections between them.

Before that, we talk to LA teacher and strike leader Gillian Russom about the LA teachers’ strike. And in our intro, we talk about the controversy surrounding this year’s Women’s March.

Most of our discussions barely scratched the surface, so we’ve got lots and lots of links for this episode.

Holly Lewis and The Politics of Everybody:

Buy Holly’s book: The Politics of Everybody: Feminism, Queer Theory and Marxism at the Intersection (http://bit.ly/LewisEverybody)

We talk a lot about social reproduction theory. For an accessible introduction, you can check out this article by Tithi Bhattacharya in Socialist Worker (http://bit.ly/TithiSW). If you would like to go deeper, Lise Vogel’s book Marxism and the Oppression of Women: Towards a Unitary Theory developed this theory and has been republished by Haymarket Books (http://bit.ly/VogelHaymarket). Tithi Bhattacharya has also edited a collection of essays exploring this topic: Social Reproduction Theory: Remapping Class, Recentering Oppression (http://bit.ly/TithiBook).

Heather Brown’s Marx on Gender and the Family delves more deeply into Marx’s approach to gender and is available from Haymarket Books (http://bit.ly/BrownHaymarket)

Jules Gleeson has written an article on “Transition and Abolition: Notes on Marxism and Trans Politics” for Viewpoint Magazine (http://bit.ly/GleesonViewpoint).

The LA teachers’ strike:

Socialist Worker is providing ongoing coverage throughout the strike (http://bit.ly/SWLAStrike)

Gillian Russom recently spoke at a solidarity panel in new York City along with an Acero charter school striker from Chicago and a wildcat striker from Oakland (http://bit.ly/LASolidarity)

The Women’s Marches:

Elizabeth Schulte wrote an article for Socialist Worker about the prospects for a new women’s movement as we approach the third annual women’s marches (http://bit.ly/SchulteSW)

Rosalind Petchesky has written a defense of Linda Sarsour and the Women’s March organizers against smears of anti-Semitism (http://bit.ly/PetcheskyBOR)

Music for this episode:

The Boy & Sister Alma, “Lizard Eyes” (Dead Sea Captains Remix)
LUTHI, “Every Body”
Roy Ayers Ubiquity, “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”
R.E.M., “Everybody Hurts”
Dean Martin, “Everybody Loves Somebody”
Chance the Rapper, “Everybody’s Something” (feat. Saba and BJ The Chicago Kid)
Tears For Fears, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”