The book, authored by sociologists Marc Barbeta-Viñas and María Jesús Izquierdo (UAB), analyses the shift within part of feminist discourse toward an identity-based approach, a topic explored in depth in the podcast Libros para comprender.
The twenty-fourth episode of Libros para comprender, the podcast of the Spanish Association of University Presses (UNE), is dedicated to the book Feminismo no es sexismo. Conversaciones sobre género y desigualdad, published by the Publishing Service of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) under the imprint «Edicions UAB».
The volume, written by sociologists Marc Barbeta-Viñas and María Jesús Izquierdo, members of the Department of Sociology at UAB, is part of the collection El espejo y la lámpara (number 25). The book stems from a dialogue between the authors and offers a critical reflection on what they identify as a shift in part of the feminist movement toward a discourse centred on identity and difference, often at the expense of analysing material inequalities.
The book addresses topics such as the sexual division of labour and exploitation, the materialist conception of gender, the role of the State and supposedly anti-patriarchal policies, as well as contemporary forms of gender-based violence. Through this lens, the authors advocate for recovering a feminism grounded in structural and socioeconomic analysis.
The podcast episode, featuring María Jesús Izquierdo (co-author) and Joan Carles Marset (editor), delves into these issues and examines how this identity turn may distract from the struggle for equality and redistribution. During the conversation, Izquierdo warns that such an approach may obscure the social causes that underpin inequality and argues for the importance of addressing it from a materialist perspective that considers exploitation, economics and social structures.
The book was presented on 26 February 2025 at UAB’s Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, in an event that featured the participation of both authors. The work is available in both print and electronic formats.
The podcast episode is now available on major podcasting platforms — such as Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube Podcast and iVoox — and can also be viewed in video format on both Spotify and YouTube.
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