Class,ethnicity and gender intertwined: Jewish women and the East London rent strikes, 1935-1940 |
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Authors: | Henry Srebrnik |
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Affiliation: | University of Prince Edward Island , Canada |
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Abstract: | Abstract Feminist theorists have long debated whether gender or class position is of primary importance in shaping women's political consciousness; the consequences of ethnic or religious distinctions have not been examined as fully. This article hopes to rectify some of these oversights by focusing on the experiences of working-class, east London Jewish women involved in the pre-war rent strikes organized by the Communist-led Stepney Tenants' Defence League. It attempts to explain why so many of them became left-wing militants while their female Irish neighbors, equally marginalized, often gravitated towards the radical right. It concludes that in these close-knit communities ethnic identity proved more politically salient than did class or gender. |
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