Human Factories

This episode critiques superficial “girl-boss” empowerment narratives, arguing that flashy media representations of strong women mask the harsher realities many women face under capitalism—persistent pay gaps, gendered expectations, and widespread violence. Research on women’s advancement reveals a structural double bind: behaving in socially approved “feminine” ways may earn status but rarely real authority, while assertive behaviour can bring power at the cost of social acceptance. Feminist thinkers and historians are therefore drawn to questioning the roots of patriarchy, from debates about prehistoric societies to modern analyses of gender and property. Drawing on Angela Saini’s work, the piece highlights how patriarchal systems developed alongside expanding state power, militarisation, and rigid gender roles that channelled men into war and women into reproductive and domestic labour.

Women’s bodies and reproductive capacities become central to understanding both ancient and modern systems of control. Historically, women were among the earliest enslaved populations and were positioned as “human factories” to sustain armies and economies; today, similar pressures persist through pronatalist policies and political movements that seek to regulate women’s choices about work, family, and reproduction. As birth rates decline globally, capitalist states increasingly frame women’s fertility as an economic necessity, often disregarding women’s autonomy and wellbeing. Genuine liberation requires challenging the wider economic structures that depend on gendered exploitation, arguing that feminist struggles against patriarchal power are inseparable from broader efforts to dismantle class domination.

Taken from the February 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

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Featuring music: 'Pushing P (Instrumental)' by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0