Seize the means of reproduction
Women must “seize the means of reproduction.”
Technology can help us by freeing women from the “burden” of pregnancy, and ultimately eliminating the sex distinction.
See: FirestoneS-2003-DialecticSexCase for the more thorough source note.
- Just as Marx’s historical materialism argues that economic structures shape society, so too have reproductive roles.
- The root of women’s oppression lies in the biological differences between the sexes, especially reproduction, whereby women are seen as “naturally” suited for caregiving.
- Therefore, women must “seize the means of reproduction.”
- The end goal of the feminist revolution is “elimination[…] of the sex distinction itself: genital differences between human beings would no longer matter culturally.”
- For Firestone, technology is key to overcoming the “burden” of pregnancy. (For example, artificial wombs.)
- Firestone’s radical ideas, while radical and polarizing, were significant contributions to feminist theory and remain influential in debates on gender, technology, and the family.