Assignment 06
In “The Caliban and the Witch” by Silvia Frederici, firstly points out how the transition from feudalism to capitalism; privatization of land began an extreme change, where people could not afford their living status and more, creating poverty and a major crisis among the people during the 16th and 17th century. This affected women’s in a major way, and more importantly they were degraded through the capitalism process. Allowing men to have a total control.
For instance, Frederici would argue towards the population and economic crisis, because women were a major foundation and producing children, and during the 16th century, the idea that number of people (citizens) would determine a ‘nations wealth’, a woman’s conduct and paternity were controlled. Penalties had become legal through the legal codes to women who were found guilty of committing reproductive crimes. This was highly placed on marriages, where a family would be normally created, the woman would be penalized if she took any contraception, birth controls or had any abortions and infanticide. A woman would have to register every pregnancy, and would be sentenced to death if the child died before baptism, whether she was found not guilty. The women had lost total control over her procreation process. Over all the women at this time became a tool for the reproduction of labor, work-force and seen as a natural breeding machine.
Federici would also argue on the devaluation of women’s labor in the work-force, that when it came to jobs, women were not respected enough. The Proletarian women in particular carried a low status, any work done by them was not considered actual work, it was considered “domestic work” or “housekeeping” (92). It was suggested that the woman should not work outside but inside to engage in manufacturing to “help” their husband. And although the women work was at times done for the market, she was still declined any financial recognition. And if paid, the money was not enough to live by, including that the women’s work would not be considered ‘work’ because or so because it would not fall into any ‘public relief’, in other words, public aid.
I believe the most contradicting part however was that this had led to women especially in the lower class to fall into prostitution, to avoid government capitalism, and although at some point it was legal, how can such a prostitution work force that was considered low and classless as woman be okay but the labor force women had to deal with during paternity and manufacturing labor be controlled?
Capitalism was extremely sexist and degrading.
