Hello friends! It's been a few months since I've written anything. Partially because I've been very busy with finishing school. Partially because I don't have much new to say. The vast majority of my last semester was filled with my thesis, which turned out well thankfully.
My thesis was on the importance of historical depth in gender theory and socialist feminism. I've probably written about it before, so I won't go into too much depth at this point. (If you want to know more, let me know, I can talk for hours about it.) My research, however, has made some of the current political discussions on the left majorly aggravating. Bernie Sanders' continued prevalence in discussions of Democratic Party strategy despite his loss and non-membership point to a continued problem on the left: sexism. Many people still "follow" him, especially young people like me, which is a whole other kettle of fish. But none of the special election candidates he's supported have won. Recently (OK like 2 months ago now), he stated that he didn't think Democratic candidates had to be pro-choice. Mister "Democratic Socialism" is neglecting that reproductive health is an economic issue. But this is unsurprising given that (white) men on the left almost always make economic equality come before gender or racial equality. This is never going to work. Because, spoiler alert, it hasn't yet worked. I saw this piece recently, which is essentially my larger point. This isn't just a Sanders problem. This is a societal problem. To be effective, the Democrats/the Left need to be committed to ending racial, gender, and economic oppression simultaneously. History has taught us that no other option exists.
I'll step off my soapbox now. As for my other class, Postwar Europe, I wrote a paper on the problems of translating French feminist philosophy--namely Simone de Beauvoir. I've also been working a lot, which is going to increase for the time being. I'm not sure what the next few months will bring, but it will probably be interesting!
