WAGES FOR HOUSEWORK

Looking back to the early days of a feminist movement.

Callaci, a historian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, chronicles the evolution of Wages for Housework, a radical and misunderstood feminist movement, by sharing her story as well as those of other women who have influenced the campaign. Selma James, Mariarosa Dalla Costa, and Wilmette Brown were key role models in the movement; Callaci relates anecdotes about them and includes interviews with activists who supported the movement. The author explains how her view of housework began to change when she started having kids. Faced with grueling daily responsibilities as a working mother, she turned to feminist writings, archives, and history books, which is how she came upon Wages for Housework, begun in 1972. A global effort to change how a household operates, Wages for Housework, Callaci writes, “starts with the premise that capitalism extracts wealth not only from workers, but also from the unpaid work of creating and sustaining workers.” James, a housewife and activist and one of the movement’s most prolific supporters, “did not see feminism as separate from the struggle of working-class people against capitalism, but a radical expansion of it.” Reframing housework as an essential part of a functioning society rather than considering it an obstacle to productivity effectively challenged the centuries-old notion that women are naturally suited to housework. The movement gained traction, but some were critical, saying that “it shoved women back into the home, right as they were trying to break free of it.” Callaci asks readers to reconsider the movement, imagining and fighting for a world that truly values women.

A thought-provoking criticism of global capitalism and its effects on women.