Abstract:
One purpose of this paper is to argue that the use of the concept of social class made within Brazilian peasant feminism as developed and defended by the Peasant Women’s Movement (Movimento de Mulheres Agricultoras - MMC) is legitimate, if undervalued even by the Left. Marxist work on peasantry produced after Kautsky’s and Lenin’s 1899 works alleging the disappearance of this type of farming ceased to support this premise. Peasantry not only remains in different social formations, whether capitalist or socialist, but it leaves an imprint in the wider circle. For Theodor Shanin, it can be said to form a political class by its ability to fight for its demands. Another goal of this article is to introduce a new perspective on feminism as upheld by Silvia Federici, which, while not classist, holds it to be a form of anti-capitalist struggle, therefore approximating peasant feminism. As for methodology, we sought to find the points of commonality or interlocution between recent Marxist production within the MMC, academic production and organizations dealing with this theme. We conclude that establishing a dialogue between the different perspectives is urgent.
Keywords:
Feminism; Peasantry; Gender; Social Classes and Rural Social Movements