Robin Blackburn writes: Branka Magas’ article touches on two themes to be found in much writing on the oppression of women. One is the very common rejection of Freud because of the blatant sexism which he frequently expressed, the other is a rejection of violence in the name of supposedly feminine values. It seems very likely that the presence of these commonly encountered positions is linked to a complementary absence.
The frequency with which Freud is rejected wholesale is matched by the frequency with which the problem of the oppression of children and minors within the family is ignored in writing on women’s oppression and women’s liberation. Of course it is true that the concept of patriarchy is often invoked—and in its colloquial rather than its strictly anthropological sense. But although this term might seem to draw attention to parental domination of children a discussion of this aspect of the problem rarely follows. Perhaps the term ‘patriarchal’ in any case carries with it the unnecessary assumption that it is only men who exercise such domination. It is more likely to be the case that women are somewhat more responsible than men for parental authoritarianism since the familial socialization of children is a part of their bondage. The fact that the attitudes of working-class ‘housewifes’ and ‘mothers’ are, in conventional political terms, more reactionary than those of working-class men could well relate to this socialization nexus.