Every once in a while ill go down a rabbit hole and recently I went down one on the May 4th movement. The topic pertinent to the discussion is Jiang Bingzhi/Ding Ling. She wrote feminist literature and was a part of the may 4th movement and the cpc. But she was purged during the cultural revolution and didn't write much afterwards. But she rejected being a victim, and says the labor improved her.
Similarly there was Claire Lacombe, who helped form the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women during the French revolution. The group was extremely radical, and played a part at Marat's funeral. But they would end up purged by the committee of public safety and herself denounced by the Jacobins. But she never denounced the Jacobins or Robsepierre, despite it being advantageous to do so at the time. [Although she would quit her political career and go into acting]
And like...idk. I read stories like this occasionally and I feel...things. It's probably related to my own struggles with gender and sexuality, my tendency to idolize and split because of BPD, and other things. But...I can't describe what I'm feeling. It's not disappointment, or at least not just that. Idk, resignation maybe? Maybe I just wish for more and the world won't give me it.
I think maybe the best way to describe it is what Han Suyin said in an interview in her later years. Something along the lines of "the CPC is worst when it is too Confucian." I understand why, both materially and ideologically, these things happened, and I'm not going to obfuscate the genuine advancements women made during both revolutions. But...sometimes it just feels too Confucian...if that makes sense?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ding_Ling
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Lacombe
Its about men being held to a lesser standard than women. Mayhaps a more "agreeable" example to you, would be how Lenin, Gagarin, Mao, Tito, Fidel and Stalin are praised while their female comrades such as Nadezhda Krupskaya, Valentina Tereshkova, Zhang Qinqiu, Jelena Ćetković become just "fun facts" or "wives"
Oh yeah, no that definitely happens with historical figures. I completely agree there. I find i have to often actively seek out historical information about women revolutionaries because the surface level presentation of history is dominated by men, even when women often played just as if not more crucial roles. That being said, i think most socialist societies do make an effort to try and overcome this bias and bring women to the forefront of history too. But it's definitely something that still needs to be worked on.