Alt Press Pick of the Week: Calling Out Sexism on the Left

Alternative Press Center

(Amelia Speed/Flickr/Creative Commons).
Rape allegations. Sexual harassment. Patriarchal abuse of power. No, this time the accusations are not against Catholic clergy or American politicians, but rather a high-ranking member of the Socialist Workers Party in the United Kingdom. Unhappiness over how the party handled the scandal has sparked a mass exodus of members. In Sexism and the Left: Fight the (Invisible) Power,” from the April/​May issue of Red Pepper, Zoe Stavri uses this case to shine a broad light on persistent sexism within the Left.
Stavri argues that sexism in its myriad abusive forms is a menacing aspect of the Left that must be addressed. She closes by asking, What is the point of undoing visible hierarchies when the invisible ones remain in place?” Everyone on the Left needs a really good answer to this question.
The text is from the poem “QUADRENNIAL” by Golden, reprinted with permission. It was first published in the Poetry Project. Inside front cover photo by Golden.
Get 10 issues for $19.95

Subscribe to the print magazine.