I'm interested to read the works of karl marx concerning these topics, if such readings exist. I've never actually seen any concerning these subjects, only those concerning economics. How did these subjects become part of the basis for communism?
if im right marx viewed the emancipation of women as a consquence of the proletarian revolution, but saw women's suffering as just 1 of the many sufferings capitalism caused.
http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/sub...women/index.htm has some of his works on women.
as for the other 2 i dont know much about marx speaking on that.
also i think opposing discrimination was because if we want people to be equal then why bother to make diffrences between them?
What Big Manifesto said. Plus he wrote on how racial nationalism was just a means by which the ruling classes could further divide the working classes. I dont think he specificly mention homosexuality, it wasn't such a high profile issue when Marx was writing. Although MArx and Engles both suggested that less conservative family structure was a good thing.
As for the question regarding how these subjects became such a prominent part of communism, the answer is that, because communism is based around equality, it is only natural for all forms of inequality (i.e. homophobia, sexism, etc.) to be opposed by communists seeking an egalitarian society.
In Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State Engels analyses all of human history within the framework of Marx's historical materialism and in doing so shows how changes in the mode of production have resulted in changes in the social superstrucutre, especially the nature of the family unit. I don't know whether it deals explicitly with the oppression of women or sexism though.
Marx had been known to use words which today would be considered racist.
As for sexism, if I remember correctly Engels said something about how "there can't be a stranger set of affiars than a woman doing the work and a man staying at home"
They were men of their time so they generally don't look good compared to our 21st century standards.
As for homophobia, I doubt that they would have been pro-gay rights when you consider that they lived in the 1800's. Even Che was societally homophobic, but this was because of the way Latin American society was in the mid-20th century.