The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex

II Introduction
Gayle u!in "oses her #uestions a!out the common ex"lanations of the causes of the o""ression of $omen% 1. Thus if innate male aggression and dominance are the root of female oppression, then the feminist program would logically require either the extermination of the offending sex, or else a eugenics project to modify its character (5 ! ". #f sexism is a $y%product of capitalism&s relentless appetite for profit, then sexism would wither away in the ad'ent of a successful socialist re'olution (5 !. . #f the world historical defeat of women occurred at the hand of an armed patriarchal re'olt, then it is time for (ma)on guerrillas to start training the (dirondac*s (5 !. u!in "ut her focus on &arx' (reud and )e*i+Strauss in this essay and loo,s into the !lindness of their ar-uments and then comes u" $ith her o$n ex"lanation .Sex/ Gender System0 of the real cause of $omens o""ression% 1. +arx, ( woman is a woman. -he only $ecomes a domestic, a wife, a chattel, a play$oy $unny, a prostitute, or a human .ictaphone in certain relations (5 !. ". /reud and 0e'i%-trauss,They see neither the implication of what they are saying, nor the implicit critique which their wor* can generate when su$jected to a feminist eye. 1e'ertheless, they pro'ide conceptual tools with which one can $uild descriptions of the part of social life which is the locus of the oppression of women, of sexual minorities, and of certain aspects of human personality within indi'iduals (5 2!. 3u$in hence offers her sex4 gender -ystem which argues, # call that part of social life the 5sex4 gender system& for the lac* of a more elegant term. (s a preliminary definition, a 5sex4gender system& is the set of arrangement $y which a society transfers $iological sexuality into products of human acti'ity, and in which these transformed sexual needs are satisfied (5 2!.

III &arx u!in critici1es &arxists theory merely treats $omen as a com"onent of the society and has no accounts for the o""ression s"ecifically of $omen% Two applications of +arxist theory 1. women are a re'erse la$or force for capitalism, that women&s generally lower wages pro'ide extra surplus to a capitalist employer, that women ser'e the ends of capitalist consumerism in their roles as administrators of family consumption, and

so forth (5 5!. ". 6the relationship $etween housewor* and the reproduction of la$or. To do this is to place women squarely in the definition of capitalism, the process in which capital is produced $y the extraction of surplus 'alue from la$or $y capital (5 5!. Sur"lus *alue2the difference !et$een $hat the la!orin- class "roduces as a $hole' and the amount of that total $hich is recycled into maintainin- the la!orin- class .3430% #t functions $y (dditional la$or must $e performed upon these things $efore they can $e turned into people6 #t can $e further argued that since no wage is paid for housewor*. The la$or of women in the home contri$utes to the ultimate quantity of surplus 'alue reali)ed (5 7!.

3u$in&s question,The analysis of the reproduction of la$or power does not e'en explain why it is usually women who do domestic wor* in the home, rather than men (5 5!. -he $elie'es #t is within this 5historical and moral element& that the entire domain of sex, sexuality, and 8f the / sex oppression is su$sumed.

#9 :ngels
3u$in praises the 'alue of :ngel&s The origin of the /amily, ;ri'ate ;roperty and the -tate $ecause it indicates that The social organi)ation under which the people of a particular historical epoch and a particular country li'e is determined $y $oth *inds of production< $y the stage if de'elopment of la$or on the one hand, and of the family on the other (5 =!. >oth the needs of economy and sexuality are 'ital.

3u$in further explains that sex is not merely $iologically determined and therefore she further tal*s a$out again her sex4gender system for +arxism and :ngels&s wor* seem to tough upon this issue $ut actually it fades into the $ac*ground. -ex4gender system ? @e cannot limit the sex system to 5reproduction& in either the social or $iological sense of the term. ( sex4 gender system is not simply the reproducti'e moment of a 5mode of production.&

The formation of gender identity is an example of production in the realm of the sexual system. (nd a sex4gender system in'ol'es more than the 5relation of procreation,& reproduction on the $iological sense (5 B!. -ex4gender system is a neutral term which refers to the domain and indicates that oppression is not ine'ita$le in that domain, $ut is the product of the specific social relations which organi)e it (5 B!.

5 6inshi",it is the idiom of social interaction' or-ani1in- economie' "olitical'

and ceremonial' as $ell as sexual acti*ity% 7nes duties' res"onsi!ilities' and "ri*ile-e *is+8+*is others are defined in terms of mutual ,inshi" or lac, thereof .39:0% 0e'i%-trauss has o$ser'ed the gift and the incest ta$oo in his studies of *inship and +auss also ma*es analysis on gifts exchange. (. Two functions of the gifts a. Aift gi'ing confers upon its participants a special relationship of trust, solidarity, and mutual aid $. Aift exchanging may also $e the idiom of competition and ri'alry (521!. >. #ncest ta$oo it imposes the social aim of exogamy and alliance upon the $iological e'ents of sex and procreation (52"!. 3u$in loo*s into the connection $etween the exchange of women and incest ta$oo. -he $elie'es that the ta$oo on incest results in a wide networ* of relations, a set of people whose connection with one another are *inship structure. #f women are the gifts, then it is men who are the exchange partners. (nd it is the partners, not the presents upon whom reciprocal exchange confers its quasi%mystical power of social lin*age The traffic of women places the oppression of women within social systems, rather than in $iology. +oreo'er, it suggests that we loo* for the ultimate locus of women&s oppression within the traffic in women rather than the traffic in merchandise (52 !.

5I ;ee"er into the )a!yrinth

(. 0e'i%-trauss finds out that the di'ision of la$or of sex is made on "ur"ose and the smallest unit of the di'ision include minimally a man and a woman. Therefore the di'ision of la$or $ecomes the ta$oo to secure heterosexual marriage (sex

relationship!. >. The di'ision of sex is important to social organi)ation. The di'ision of sex is practiced in gender, o$ligatory heterosexuality, and the constraint of female sexuality. a. Aender,it is man%made and the difference $etween men and women is not a$solute. $. 8$ligatory heterosexuality,Aender is not only an identification with one sexC it also entails desire $e directed toward the other sex (527!. c. The constraint of female sexuality,the preferred female sexuality would $e one which responded to the desire of others, rather than one which acti'ely desired and sought a response (52=!. 5II Psychoanalysis and Its ;iscontents, u!in ar-ues that !oth "sychoanalysis and structural anthro"olo-y are' in one sense' the most so"histicated ideolo-ies of sexism around .39<0% The $ays they analy1e $omen are !ased on the assimilation of the normali1ed characteristics of $omen% (. 0e'i%-trauss, he sees women as $eing li*e words, which are misused when they are not 5communicated& and exchange (52B!. >. /reud, a dou$le standard of interpretation is employed. +asochism is $ad for men essential to women. (dequate narcissism is necessary for men, impossi$le for women (55D!. easons for u!in to com!ine (reud and )e*i+Strausss ideas ( neither 0e'is%-trauss nor /reud questions the undou$ted sexism endemic to the system they descri$e, the questions which ought to $e posed are $lindingly o$'ious > their wor* ena$les us to isolate sex and gender from 5modes of production & and to counter a certain tendency to explain sex oppression as a reflex economic forces. E. the exegesis of 0e'i%-trauss and /reud suggests a certain 'ision of feminist politics and the feminist utopia. #t suggests that we should not aim for the elimination of men, $ut for the elimination of the social system which creates sexism and gender (551!. the aim for the feminist movement, too

5II The Political Economy of Sex

In some culture' there is an e#ui*alent for a $oman' $hile some acce"t no e#ui*alent% The to,ens of !ride$ealth *ary in different cultures and the acce"ter differs% Women are -i*en to the u""er class= $hile in others they are assi-ned to the lo$er ones% It is o!*ious therefore that the economy of sex is ne*er !iolo-ically determined and the effect elements are *ery com"lex%

I Startin- >uestions

1. @hat is Aayle 3u$in&s critique a$out +arx, (ngels, 0e'i%-trauss or /reudF ". @hy does sex4gender system ne'er wither away in different cultures and organi)ations, for instance, capitalism and socialismF @hat is the force that supports sex4 gender systemF . .o you thin* we can e'entually eliminate the di'ision of sexF @hy or why notF 2. .o you thin* the di'ision of la$or of sex is $ased on the inequality of men and or women or it is the essence of the wor* that ma*es one gender superior to the otherF 5. 8r you can also tal* a$out your response to the text.