Toward a Joyful, Generous, and Fluid Left: An Interview with Kristen R. Ghodsee

Abstract

In this interview with Kristen Ghodsee, (conducted by Rethinking Marxism’s Overdetermined podcast team Maliha Safri, Jared Randall, and Ryan Watts, and edited for brevity and clarity for print publication by Kenan Erçel), her three recent books are discussed: Second World, Second Sex: Socialist Women’s Activism and Global Solidarity during the Cold War; Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism and Other Arguments for Economic Independence; and Red Hangover: Legacies of 20th Century Communism. Taped at the height of the pandemic in 2021, the conversation explores how relations between men and women are shaped by social systems including capitalism in the West, and socialism in the ‘second world.’ Ghodsee describes her own interests in Alexandra Kollontai, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and how they influenced her own writing that encompasses multiple modalities of research including in-depth field work, fiction, and archival research in multiple eastern European countries. Going between the current day and the past, Ghodsee emphasizes how economic systems and psychosocial stress show up in how families arrange unpaid labor, sex, and every other intimate arena of life.

Key Words:

• Kristen Ghodsee
• Feminist Marxism
• Unpaid Labor
• Eastern European Socialism