Abstract

The article theoretically discusses three main models of interpretation of the structural relationship between gender oppression and capitalism: (1) the "Dual or Triple Systems Theory"; (2) the thesis that capitalist economic laws are sex blind and indifferent to sexual and racial differences; (3) and the "Unitary Theory". Each of these three interpretive theses is based on a specific reading of Marx and exemplifies the different outcomes arising from different interpretations of Marx's critique of political economy. The article concludes with a defense of the notion of social reproduction as articulated within the "Unitary Theory": the unitary approach avoids the theoretical and logical shortcomings of the two other models and provides a fruitful theoretical framework for understanding the causal relations between capitalism and gender oppression.