[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuQRFOP5vdw&w=560&h=315]

This is a presentation by Lily Matchett and hosted by Sydney Free School & Sydney University’s Postgraduate Women’s Collective. It explores some historical case studies that illuminate how a) the advent of capitalism has affected women’s lives and rights globally b) gender oppression, racism and capitalism are inextricably linked c) past feminist movements have yielded to racism, elitism and division. It draws on the historical research of Marxist Feminist Activists and Scholars regarding: the 16th century European witch hunts; African American women in slavery in 18th century U.S; women’s liberation movements in the 20th century; and the effects of the birth control movement on women in the Global South over the last century.