Social feminism has been revitalised in recent years by a revived interest in ‘social reproduction’, which an increasing number of Marxist theorists have used both to explain changes continuing to take place in our era of capitalism, and strategise effective responses led by worker action. A sizable and flourishing body of research is addressing how workplaces are integrated with households, and how reproductive labour generates both workforces suitable for capitalist exploitation, and potential sites of resistance to Capital. Led by Marxist Feminists, this theoretical trend has reapplied Marxist frameworks to gain an explanatory grasp of societies as they exist across time. More recently a trend of 'Queer Social Reproduction Theory' has been posited (Griffiths 2018), as scholars have sought to demonstrate 'the failure of “family” values to solve the intensification of racial capitalism and the resulting radicalization of the demands emerging from these sectors of society as potentially universal transitional demands.' Queer Social Reproduction wants not only to include queer experiences of life-making, but also direct us towards recognising (and provoking) the revolutionary potential of breaking points in heterosexuality’s continuous self-fabrication. Through centering the difficulties which capitalism experiences ensuring a normatively ordered, docile workforce exists across time, QSRT hopes to illuminate potential points of solidarity for all anti-capitalists.
This panel will take up the challenge of consciously articulating Queer SRT: we will explore both what historical examples from queer history can provide for contemporary SRT, and consider what insights a Queer Social Reproduction Theory provides to political strategising today.

Moderated by Jules Joanne Gleeson.

Sponsored by Red Bloom and Leftovers Live.