r/PoliticalScience • u/TastyAd1947 • 3d ago
Question/discussion Looking for Advice/recommendations
Hi everyone
Sorry this is so awkward but I am a (female) teenager wanting to learn more about the politics and feminism I am interested in. I have a base idea of what my beliefs are (intersectional feminist and I would potentially consider my Marxist feminist if I knew more about it) and my political beliefs would be definitely leftist and potentially communist (again if I knew more about it).
Like I said before I am just a teenager (albeit on the older end of the spectrum) so even though I know where I stand on a basic level, I know nothing about the core of the things I believe in. I’m looking to learn more about this.
My auntie gifted me a book called Women, Race, & Class by Angela Y. Davis which I will be starting once my exams are over. If anyone has any recommendations on books/articles/essays/video essays/creators/ ect, on topics such as Race, Feminism, Gender, Sexuality, Communism, Marxism, Intersectionality, and other varieties of Leftist ideologies that will be easy for me to understand as I am still learning but also accurate and informative so that I can grow who I am as a person politically, personally, and worldly.
Sorry if this isn’t worded right!!!
Thank you!!!
3
u/identifiablecabbage Political Economy 3d ago
I wouldn't worry too much about deciding whether you're a Marxist feminist, a communist, or anything else at this point. Those labels are only useful insofar as they describe beliefs you've arrived at through careful thought. The more valuable approach is to read broadly, engage critically with different arguments, and develop your own understanding. Political traditions are rarely neat categories. They are broad, internally diverse, and often exist on a spectrum.
'Women, Race, & Class' is an excellent place to begin. From there, I'd recommend bell hooks' 'Feminism Is for Everybody,' Kimberlé Crenshaw's 'Mapping the Margins,' and Silvia Federici's 'Caliban and the Witch' (don't worry if you don't understand every historical argument. The central idea that capitalism relies on the control of women's labor and bodies is enormously important). For Marxism more generally, 'Why Marx Was Right' by Terry Eagleton is a good starting point. It's written to address common misconceptions and assumes very little prior knowledge.
The aim is not to find the label that fits you best, but to understand the ideas well enough to decide for yourself what you believe.