There's a book about feminism in the Eastern bloc that (if I recall correctly) mentions women in the GDR who, thanks to the general support they got, went so far that they decided to cut the fathers out of their lives and raise their children alone. Edit: the book is Kirsten Ghodsee's Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism.
Interesting, I know many of the American women who move to the Soviet Union in the 20s and 30s, first divorced their husbands before starting their life of equality.
@@LadyIzdihar Good for them, probably, just as for those German mothers. Maybe fatherhood should be also focused on, i. e. seeing to it that men grow up to be better fathers (and husbands).
Kristen Ghodsee wrote a couple really interesting books that focus primarily on Bulgaria. Her book, Left side of History, is a really moving history narrative. She's kind of a lib, but she demonstrates a lot of admiration for the policies that were achieved in former socialist countries like the GDR and Bulgaria, and she aims her writing at a primarily Western audience to help destimgmatize and champion some of the great achievments socialist countries made. She also does a lot to humanize the people that lived in those socialist countries as well as the ones the suffered through its catastrophic collapse. I highly recommend Left side of History. It focuses on a few different interesting historical figures, but a lot of the book is dedicated to Elena Lagadinova, The Amazon. She was a young girl (fourteen) who fought as a partisan communist with her family against monarcho-facist government forces in Bulgaria during world war 2, and later went on to be a very influential person in communist Bulgaria; she was rightfully looked up to as a hero, and she ended up helping establish really amazing policies for women in Bulgaria.
I remember seeing kpd (communist party of germany) posters and being surprised they were advocating for a right to abortion in 1920ish, when this is still going on 100 years later. That was surely inspired by the Soviet Union.
The Weimar Republic (1918-1933) was a strangely progressive time and place. Aside from massive strides in women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights were far ahead as well, especially in regards to trans people, who enjoyed an unpresidented level of legal, medical and societal acceptance, with special permits being handed out allowing trans people to dress as the gender they identified as without being punished for crossdressing, and medical breakthroughs such as the first succesful vaginoplasty. Sadly, a lot of progress was lost in the dark years that followed.
Abortion also used to be much harsher for the body during those times, because abortion methods were not so developed as they are today. Especially multiple abortions used to have a risk for infertility, chronic pains, perforation of the uterus, uterine walls fusing together, etc during early Soviet times
in romania when abortions were banned during communism the result were lots of illegal and unsafe abortions performed by people who were not always properly trained, in spaces that were not sterile and that led to death or injuries to the mother and fetus. plus it led to a lot of unwanted children being born which were then abandoned or neglected or unloved. it is true that at the time (even if it happened 50 years ago and the country wasn't particularly wealthy) we did have more benefits in place for mothers and children than the usa has now, but i don't see the ban as being beneficial at all (not even at that time). it is wild to me to think that people would even consider an abortion ban as a good thing...now when abortions are safer than ever and when we have so many options for effective contraception.
That's the difference in capitalist countries. We don't get abortion education to better navigate when and when not to get one, how to proceed when getting one, and what the side effects are.
"Men didn't even have to be proven to be the biological father to be held responsible". That standard has existed elsewhere as well, I think in the U.S. as well. It's controversial and not always so great for families.
I find it noteworthy that many abortion opponents in USA call abortion rights advocates “Stalinists”, whereas Stalin was the one who banned abortion. (I also read the USSR was open to LGBTQ Rights under Lenin but Stalin rolled them back.)
No, USSR was never, at very least not in this very modern and western sense, pro-LGBTQ at any point in its history, especially not in literal Azerbaijan ASSR.
That's not accurate, the Soviet government just decided that it's trad wife time again and that woman need to breed as much soldiers for the labour army as possible.
Your idea of the "choice" of women and "Soviet experiment" make an interesting pair. One the one hand you have women who want to have children as they are fulfilling their socio-cultural role and then you have a purposeful destabilizing of that order to break up the old socio-cultural order through "experimentation" so that a new "more equal" order could be put in its place. I suppose what is up for historical analysis is whether "choice" is more free in a bottom-up (ubiquity of marriage in all societies) order or a top-down order (abortion, breaking up the old bottom-up order). The problem is that those in the top-down are always right in their own minds and will always think they will prevail "given enough time" or "if the revolution would have spread". There is no historical analysis with ideology, just more ideology.
I don't know what your point is here, are you trying to claim women abort their pregnancy for the purpose of "destabilizing the social order", and not out of genuine personal reasons why they would not want to give birth to a child right now?
@@mynamejeff3545 Hello Jeff. Normally, if someone's point doesn't make sense it is because you are not able to place a problem within its historical circumstance. I would suggest learning more history. The reason? People's acts aren't in a vacuum.
Marriage is not ubiquitous in ALL societies. There are particular historical conditions that give rise to the conception of marriage that exists today. Women's choice in the old "bottom-up" order was whether of not to have sex, after that if she got pregnant her ability to choose how her life would go is largely confined to being a housewife. I guess thats what you would prefer, since she would be fulfilling her "socio-cultural role".
@@pyjonyr5029 "Marriage is not ubiquitous in ALL societies. There are particular historical conditions that give rise to the conception of marriage that exists today." First, this is a tautology as everything has a 'particular historical condition'. Second, I am not quite sure you understand the meaning of the word "ubiquitous" as it doesn't necessitate that "ALL societies" must adhere. "Women's choice in the old "bottom-up" order was whether of not to have sex, after that if she got pregnant her ability to choose how her life would go is largely confined to being a housewife. I guess thats what you would prefer, since she would be fulfilling her "socio-cultural role"." Well, besides knowing nothing of history, there are various societies with various expressions of marriage (and yes, it's ubiquitous). There are monogamous, polygamous, polyandry, polygny, etc. Each will vary on how the female expresses "choice" within that socio-cultural order. Even focusing on the context of the video, female choice within early 20th century Soviet Russia wasn't confined to "whether or not to have sex". There are going to be differences based on social class (obviously) where the state would actually pay the dowry for the elite women. Either way, you're out of your depth.
@@Hegeleze You said that marriage is ubiquitous in all societies. This is plainly wrong, and besides very difficult to prove. I suppose your statement can hold if you use a narrowed definition of society. Otherwise, you would need to show that marriage emerges before or just as society forms.
There's a book about feminism in the Eastern bloc that (if I recall correctly) mentions women in the GDR who, thanks to the general support they got, went so far that they decided to cut the fathers out of their lives and raise their children alone.
Edit: the book is Kirsten Ghodsee's Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism.
Interesting, I know many of the American women who move to the Soviet Union in the 20s and 30s, first divorced their husbands before starting their life of equality.
@@LadyIzdihar Good for them, probably, just as for those German mothers.
Maybe fatherhood should be also focused on, i. e. seeing to it that men grow up to be better fathers (and husbands).
I'd pay good money to see a convo between Kirsten Ghodsee and Lady Izdihar! That is, if I had any.
Kristen Ghodsee wrote a couple really interesting books that focus primarily on Bulgaria. Her book, Left side of History, is a really moving history narrative. She's kind of a lib, but she demonstrates a lot of admiration for the policies that were achieved in former socialist countries like the GDR and Bulgaria, and she aims her writing at a primarily Western audience to help destimgmatize and champion some of the great achievments socialist countries made. She also does a lot to humanize the people that lived in those socialist countries as well as the ones the suffered through its catastrophic collapse. I highly recommend Left side of History. It focuses on a few different interesting historical figures, but a lot of the book is dedicated to Elena Lagadinova, The Amazon. She was a young girl (fourteen) who fought as a partisan communist with her family against monarcho-facist government forces in Bulgaria during world war 2, and later went on to be a very influential person in communist Bulgaria; she was rightfully looked up to as a hero, and she ended up helping establish really amazing policies for women in Bulgaria.
I remember seeing kpd (communist party of germany) posters and being surprised they were advocating for a right to abortion in 1920ish, when this is still going on 100 years later. That was surely inspired by the Soviet Union.
The Weimar Republic (1918-1933) was a strangely progressive time and place. Aside from massive strides in women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights were far ahead as well, especially in regards to trans people, who enjoyed an unpresidented level of legal, medical and societal acceptance, with special permits being handed out allowing trans people to dress as the gender they identified as without being punished for crossdressing, and medical breakthroughs such as the first succesful vaginoplasty.
Sadly, a lot of progress was lost in the dark years that followed.
I learned about your content through the deprogram, I'm very much impressed by your scholarship
Abortion also used to be much harsher for the body during those times, because abortion methods were not so developed as they are today. Especially multiple abortions used to have a risk for infertility, chronic pains, perforation of the uterus, uterine walls fusing together, etc during early Soviet times
I freaking adore you. I've already disproven one ridiculous image with your information. ❤️
This is absolutely crucial historical context to understand for any communist discussing this topic! Thank you!
I love it when you share your broad historical perspective.
in romania when abortions were banned during communism the result were lots of illegal and unsafe abortions performed by people who were not always properly trained, in spaces that were not sterile and that led to death or injuries to the mother and fetus. plus it led to a lot of unwanted children being born which were then abandoned or neglected or unloved. it is true that at the time (even if it happened 50 years ago and the country wasn't particularly wealthy) we did have more benefits in place for mothers and children than the usa has now, but i don't see the ban as being beneficial at all (not even at that time). it is wild to me to think that people would even consider an abortion ban as a good thing...now when abortions are safer than ever and when we have so many options for effective contraception.
Thank you for addressing this! Its great to know the context!
That's the difference in capitalist countries. We don't get abortion education to better navigate when and when not to get one, how to proceed when getting one, and what the side effects are.
Thank you for this video!!
"Men didn't even have to be proven to be the biological father to be held responsible". That standard has existed elsewhere as well, I think in the U.S. as well. It's controversial and not always so great for families.
thank you!!
Great video! Love your channel. Keep spreading the TRUTH about the soviet experiment!
That's it, I subscribe.
Gosh this was 2 years ago :(
1:25 Was this law in the Russian Empire, or the USSR? Because paternity fraud is bad no matter what.
awesome channel
Nice video
I find it noteworthy that many abortion opponents in USA call abortion rights advocates “Stalinists”, whereas Stalin was the one who banned abortion. (I also read the USSR was open to LGBTQ Rights under Lenin but Stalin rolled them back.)
No, USSR was never, at very least not in this very modern and western sense, pro-LGBTQ at any point in its history, especially not in literal Azerbaijan ASSR.
That's not accurate, the Soviet government just decided that it's trad wife time again and that woman need to breed as much soldiers for the labour army as possible.
I assume this is satire lol
@americancommunist6076 not satire the truth. They need more meat for the mertgrinder.
Love just ignoring anything said in the video and making up your own conclusion
Your idea of the "choice" of women and "Soviet experiment" make an interesting pair. One the one hand you have women who want to have children as they are fulfilling their socio-cultural role and then you have a purposeful destabilizing of that order to break up the old socio-cultural order through "experimentation" so that a new "more equal" order could be put in its place. I suppose what is up for historical analysis is whether "choice" is more free in a bottom-up (ubiquity of marriage in all societies) order or a top-down order (abortion, breaking up the old bottom-up order). The problem is that those in the top-down are always right in their own minds and will always think they will prevail "given enough time" or "if the revolution would have spread". There is no historical analysis with ideology, just more ideology.
I don't know what your point is here, are you trying to claim women abort their pregnancy for the purpose of "destabilizing the social order", and not out of genuine personal reasons why they would not want to give birth to a child right now?
@@mynamejeff3545 Hello Jeff. Normally, if someone's point doesn't make sense it is because you are not able to place a problem within its historical circumstance. I would suggest learning more history. The reason? People's acts aren't in a vacuum.
Marriage is not ubiquitous in ALL societies. There are particular historical conditions that give rise to the conception of marriage that exists today. Women's choice in the old "bottom-up" order was whether of not to have sex, after that if she got pregnant her ability to choose how her life would go is largely confined to being a housewife. I guess thats what you would prefer, since she would be fulfilling her "socio-cultural role".
@@pyjonyr5029 "Marriage is not ubiquitous in ALL societies. There are particular historical conditions that give rise to the conception of marriage that exists today."
First, this is a tautology as everything has a 'particular historical condition'. Second, I am not quite sure you understand the meaning of the word "ubiquitous" as it doesn't necessitate that "ALL societies" must adhere.
"Women's choice in the old "bottom-up" order was whether of not to have sex, after that if she got pregnant her ability to choose how her life would go is largely confined to being a housewife. I guess thats what you would prefer, since she would be fulfilling her "socio-cultural role"."
Well, besides knowing nothing of history, there are various societies with various expressions of marriage (and yes, it's ubiquitous). There are monogamous, polygamous, polyandry, polygny, etc. Each will vary on how the female expresses "choice" within that socio-cultural order. Even focusing on the context of the video, female choice within early 20th century Soviet Russia wasn't confined to "whether or not to have sex". There are going to be differences based on social class (obviously) where the state would actually pay the dowry for the elite women. Either way, you're out of your depth.
@@Hegeleze You said that marriage is ubiquitous in all societies. This is plainly wrong, and besides very difficult to prove. I suppose your statement can hold if you use a narrowed definition of society. Otherwise, you would need to show that marriage emerges before or just as society forms.