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Wages, Housework, and Feminist Activism in 1970S Italy and Canada

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Wages, Housework, and Feminist Activism in 1970S Italy and Canada HOUSEWORK AND SOCIAL SUBVERSION: WAGES, HOUSEWORK, AND FEMINIST ACTIVISM IN 1970S ITALY AND CANADA CHRISTINA ROUSSEAU A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HUMANITIES YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO December 2016 © Christina Rousseau, 2016 Abstract My dissertation, Housework and Social Subversion: Wages, Housework, and Feminist Activism in 1970s Italy and Canada, presents a history of the Wages for Housework movements in Italy and Canada (1972-1978), looking at the parallel development of autonomist feminist politics in these locations. Based on a series of interviews with feminists involved in the movement, my dissertation highlights the significant political value in the way the group’s theoretical perspective influenced our current understanding of social reproduction. Social reproduction refers to the unpaid activities associated with family and societal maintenance – procreation, socialization, and nurturance – as well as paid work in social sectors such as health care, education, childcare, and social services. In the context of Wages for Housework, my dissertation re-examines the movement’s understandings of wages, housework, and the gendered relations of production in the home. In critiquing the capitalist, patriarchal, imperialist nuclear family, they re- conceptualized wages and housework in a way that allowed for the uncovering of the most hidden aspect of housework: emotional labour and care. Looking at the parallel development of Wages for Housework movements in Italy and Canada, I also highlight the emergence of similar tensions regarding the demand for wages and the role of the working class housewife in their analyses. As Nicole Cox and Silvia Federici wrote, “Our power as women begins with the social struggle for the wage, not to be let into the wage relation (for we were never out of it) but to be le out of it, for every sector of the working class to be left out of it” (1975, 11). In light of the continued pervasiveness of care as work, this dissertation contributes to building a better understanding of social reproduction in a global context. ii Dedication To women in all parts of the world who continue to do the important yet invisible work of care and social reproduction. To my late Nonna, Teresa Orsini. Though she won’t get to celebrate this with me, she was a huge inspiration for this project. iii Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Jacinthe Michaud for the continuous support of my doctoral project, for her patience, and for her extensive knowledge and expertise. Her guidance was invaluable during the researching and writing of this dissertation. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank the rest of my dissertation committee: Dr. Jan Kainer and Dr. Eva Karpinski. I feel honoured to have had a group of accomplished feminist scholars supporting my work; their perceptive questions and comments helped me widen my research and writing, and their encouragement was incredibly helpful. My sincere thanks also goes to Dr. Marlene Kadar, who was my advisor at the outset of this project. Though she was not able to continue on my committee, I nevertheless was able to benefit from her valuable insights, tough questions, and immense support. This project would not have been possible without the help of the incredible women I interviewed: Sonia Cavazzana, Mariarosa Dalla Costa, Lucia Donalice, Silvia Federici, Dorothy Kidd, Nicole Lacelle, Antonella Picchio, Giuseppina Saufill-Paggi, Franca Singra, Louise Toupin, and Francie Wyland. Without exception, they were incredibly generous with their time and with the information they shared. It was a great honour to meet them, and I have huge respect for the work they did and continue to do. Writing this dissertation has been a long and sometimes arduous process. There are times when I thought I would not finish and, indeed, probably would not have been able to had it not been for the love, support, and encouragement from friends and family. A huge thanks to “Red” Chris Vance for being the first to bring The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community to my attention, and for connecting me with Silvia Federici. To Gary Kinsman and John Huott: our conversations on autonomist-Marxism towards the end of my writing were a huge help in propelling me to complete, and special thanks to Gary for connecting me with more resources that further enriched my project. Thanks to friends and colleagues in HuGSA, and to staff and faculty in Humanities who have helped me navigate the dissertation process. To my friends and comrades in CUPE 3903: though my involvement with 3903 is one of the major reasons it took me longer than expected to complete, I’m glad it connected me with so many amazing people. In particular, I want to thank Alex Levant, Heather McLean, Alison Fisher, Greg Bird, Ritika Shrimali, and others who have helped along the way. A special thanks to Katherine Nastovski, Tracy Supruniuk, and Luke: you’ve been a big part of keeping me balanced and smiling throughout this long process. In addition to a great community of people at York, I’m lucky to have a network of amazing friends from different parts of my life. Thank you to Susanna Quail, Vicky Raffin, and baby Iris (aka the Quaffins) for your love and support, even though it’s from afar now. To my Sudbury friends, Alicia Tough, Emily Mackwood, Jennifer Comacchio, and Fionna Tough: thank you for the required amount of laughter and all the fireside chats. iv Finally, huge thanks to my family who are always a great support to me: Mark Rousseau, Jonathan Rousseau, Sylvio Orsini, Lise Orsini, Chad Orsini, Shawn Orsini, Domenico Orsini, Teresa Orsini, Richard Harrison, Chelsee Bradbury, Julie Howes, and all the dogs. Last, and most importantly, to my mother, Stephanie Orsini: thank you for everything. You have no idea how much your support has meant to me. v Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................ii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................iv Table of Contents................................................................................................................vi List of Images...................................................................................................................viii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….….1 Feminism in the 1970s: A Dynamic Period ……………...………………….……………3 Distinguishing Feminisms: Liberal, Radical, Socialist and Marxist.………….…..3 The Feminist Perspective of WfH…………………………………………………8 The Personal is Political: Setting the Terms for Wages for Housework.………...….…..10 Working Class……………………………………………………………………12 Wages…………………………………………………………………………….12 Housework……………………………………………………………………….13 Housewife………………………………………………………………………..14 Family……………………………………………………………………………15 Bodily Autonomy………………………………………………………………..17 Chapter Outlines.…………………………………………….…………………………..19 Chapter 1 Theoretical Approach…………………………………….………..….………………….22 Feminist Standpoint Theory…………………………………………………...…..23 Tensions Within Feminist Standpoint Theory……………………………………..26 Standpoint Through Struggle………………………………………………………30 Looking at WfH through the Lens of Feminist Standpoint Theory……………….32 Approaching Wages for Housework Using Feminist History…………………………...36 Interviews………………………………………………………………………….38 Archive…………………………………………………………………………….42 Translation…………………………………………………………………………43 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….44 Chapter 2 Literature Review ………………….……………………………………….….…...……46 Engels, Inman, and Mitchell ………………………………………………….…………48 Benston, Morton, Dalla Costa and James ………………………………….……………55 The Domestic Labour Debate…………….………………………………………..….…62 Housework as "Real" Work: Is it Productive or Reproductive?............................63 The Family Unit: Gendered Relations in the Home……………………………..70 Waged and Unwaged Work: Women's Dual Identity……………………………82 Conclusion…………………………..……………………………….……………….… 85 Chapter 3 vi Wages and Housework in Italy: Padua and the Comitato Tri-Veneto per il Salario al Lavoro Domestico……………..…90 Salario al Lavoro Domestico: Emerging from the Split in Lotta Femminista…………...91 Contextualizing the Growth of Wages for Housework in Italy……………….……....…95 Regional Differences…………………………………………………………………...103 Connection to Left Politics and Struggles for Autonomy…...………………………….109 Salario al lavoro domestico in Italy….……………………..……..……………………113 The “Coming Out” of SLD………………………………………………………..113 A Distinct Feminist Perspective………………………………………………….119 Struggles for Bodily Autonomy and Access to Abortio….……….….…………..122 Resisting Patriarchy: Reframing Motherhood and Femininity…………………...128 Conclusion………..…………………………………………………………………….138 Chapter 4 Wages and Housework in Canada: A Focus on the Toronto Wages for Housework Committee.……………………..…….140 The Growth of Feminist Consciousness in the Post-War Period……………………….141 Government and Legislative Responses to Feminist Issues……………………143 Wages for Housework in Canada………………………………………………...…….148 Divergent Tendencies: Organizational and Political Perspectives……………..153 A Stalled Emergence in Quebec.…………………….…………………………………154 Translating the Perspective
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