This book takes a new look at the relationship between socialism and feminism before the First World War, through a detailed examination of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), Britain's first Marxist party. It reassesses the history of the SDF, exploring for the first time SDF ideas and practice on issues such as marriage and "free love," women and work, and the suffrage, as well as the attitudes taken toward women and their potential as socialists. Dr. Hunt shows how the SDF came to equivocate officially on the woman question and how this shaped what it meant to be a socialist woman in the following years.

This fascinating new study examines the experiences of women involved in the socialist movement during its formative years in Britain and the active role they played in campaigning for the vote. By giving full attention to this much-neglected group of women, Socialist Women examines and challenges the orthodox views of labour and suffrage history.
Torn between competing loyalties of gender, class and politics, socialist women did not have a fixed identity but a number of contested identities. June Hannam and Karen Hunt probe issues that created divisions between these women, as well as giving them the opportunity to act together. In three fascinating case studies they explore:
* women's suffrage
* women and internationalism
* the politics of consumption.
Believing above all that being a woman was vital to their politics, these individuals sought to develop a woman-focused theory of socialism and to put this new politics into practice.

This book takes a new look at the relationship between socialism and feminism before the First World War, through a detailed examination of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), Britain's first Marxist party. It reassesses the history of the SDF, exploring for the first time SDF ideas and practice on issues such as marriage and "free love," women and work, and the suffrage, as well as the attitudes taken toward women and their potential as socialists. Dr. Hunt shows how the SDF came to equivocate officially on the woman question and how this shaped what it meant to be a socialist woman in the following years.

Contents:
Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1. Socialist Women: On the margins of history 2. Biographies and Political Journeys 3. Constructing the Woman question 4. Mixed sex-politics 5. Socialist Women and a politics of consumption 7. Socialist Women and Internationalism Conclusion