The Fight for Communism Requires Working-Class Unity
I am a comrade from Mexico. I work on environmental questions.
This work allows me to spend my time with about five male colleagues, in rural communities, for almost 14 days in a row. I am the coordinator of the group and I also take shifts driving.
For our “professional” training, the conditions are almost ideal. That is, they coexist with environmental ideas and through the use of less technology living in “natural” environments is better.
The dynamic at work has not allowed me to analyze the issues of sexism at work. For example:
Once when we ate, we passed around the jug and could not correctly put the lid on to serve the water. A colleague said, “That’s why you haven’t gotten married. You’re not a woman because you don’t know how to serve water.” The others laughed.
When the meal ended, I said that we should wash the dishes. A colleague said, “We don’t do that.”
I asked why. He said, “That is what the woman who made us the food is for.”
In a small cafe, the service is provided by men. The colleagues criticized the workers, saying things like:
“I don’t want a straw.”
“I want a glass cup not a plastic one.”
”Why don’t they change the plastic bags for paper ones?”
“The food isn’t tasty.”
Later we went to another place where the people who served us were women. They went out of their way to serve the clients. When we left this place, the men said that in this place they give very good service. So I responded, “Now I understand. You like servility.”
They got upset.
In the decision making I consult them. If I don’t agree, I explain why, and the conversation becomes a discussion. One of them says that I am a “wild filly” because I do not accede to what they say.
They do not take the initiative to clean the house. On purpose, I left a few days without cleaning to see whether anyone took the initiative. They did not. Afterwards, we talked and agreed on who would clean what.
Another time we needed to fix a network of thick wire to collect insects. None of them did it. When I tried to do it, one of them said, “I’ll do it.”
I answered, “I can do it.”
He answered, “Ok then do it, but you’ll do it wrong.”
I got upset and answered, “My Dad taught me and I’ll do it.”
Once there was a comment about why I wasn’t married. They indicated that if I don’t marry, I will end up alone and “dressing saints.” They mentioned that in their communities a woman at the age of fifteen is already married.
I can give more examples but I want to be self-critical. I was rude and violent in responding to my friends. I had not analyzed the situation, until I understood it in an international meeting of ICWP.
I know that cultural roots bring an infinity of sexist conducts in women as well as in men. If we don’t analyze these dialectically they cause conflicts among co-workers. I know that they won’t be understood or changed spontaneously if we don’t make observations about them.
Some co-workers know that I am a communist. I know that sometimes I would like to demand non-sexist behaviors by my co-workers and not have them myself. But the rhythm of the work makes us alienated, allowing incorrect actions to happen, when the main thing should be the political development of each person.
As communists, men or women, we must be attentive to these kinds of behaviors that are sometimes almost imperceptible. Only in this way can we sharpen the struggle and expose capitalism.
There have been many collective practices in decision-making and actions. It has been a good exercise to live in a collective and know that only in the collectives are personal and group advances possible. They are not communists, but I treat them like communists and the demand is double, that is to say, in theory and practice. I should mention that with one of them we have begun study groups.
In our fight against sexism, the collectivity and dialectical analysis of it will allow us to understand and change behaviors and ideas in order to make our Communist society possible. Join ICWP.
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