What is Materialist Feminism?
To define MatFem is not an easy task. Theorists who self-identify as Materialist or as Marxist Feminists differ in their understanding of what these labels mean and, consequently, the kind of knowledges they produce. Depending on their theoretical allegiances and self-understanding, feminists may differ in their classification of other feminists’ works, so that clear lines of theoretical demarcation between and within these two umbrella terms are somewhat difficult to establish. Take, for example, Lise Vogel’s work.1 I always considered Vogel a Marxist Feminist because, unlike Socialist Feminists (whose avoidance of Marx’s alleged reductionisms led them to postulate ahistorical theories of patriarchy),2 she took Marxism seriously and her analysis of reproduction as a basis for the oppression of women is firmly grounded within the Marxist tradition. However, the subtitle of her recent book (a collection of previously published essays), is `Essays for a Materialist Feminism’. Self-identi
