Liz Ross is a long-term

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

activist and author based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She has campaigned for

Women's Rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and

Gay Liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s in the Western world, that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoff ...

since 1972 and was a union delegate in the

Department of Social Security A ministry of social security or department of social security is a government entity responsible for social security affairs. It may be a ministry office, a department, or, as in the United States, a nominally independent agency. Notable ones ar ...

for ten years during the Hawke era. Notably, she has contributed detailed accounts of industrial struggle in Australia, with

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

workers in both defunct the

Builders Labourers Federation The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1911 until 1972, and from 1976 until 1986, when it was permanently deregistered in various Australian states by the federal Hawke Labor government and som ...

and the Royal Australian Nurses' Federation. She is also a member of the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

organisation Socialist Alternative, as well as its

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

party

Victorian Socialists The Victorian Socialists (VS) is an Australian political party based in the state of Victoria. The party's stated aims are "to put politicians on a worker's wage so they live like the rest of us" and "to get socialists into parliament who wil ...

and a founding and life member of the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

Writing

In 2013, Ross wrote ''Revolution is for us: The Left and Gay Liberation in Australia'', published by Interventions, which refutes claims that

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

has no tradition of dealing with sexual oppression. Victorian Equal Love Convenor and fellow member of Socialist Alternative, Ali Hogg said of the book: "Ross's provocative book challenges conventional views about the origins of modern Lesbian and Gay movements. Her insights are sure to spark debate among fighters for equal rights and liberation." In 2004, Ross wrote ''Dare to struggle, dare to win! Builders Labourers fight deregistration, 1981-94'', published by Vulgar Press, which outlined the history of the militant

. David Renton of ''

Labour History Labor history is a sub-discipline of social history which specializes on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors besides class ...

'' called the book "a wonderfully partisan account that takes seriously the challenge of understanding the past through the eyes of the people who realised that strong trade unions of unskilled workers are a rare and precious thing, the men and (very often) women who fought against the bosses and the courts.""Review of Liz Ross, Dare to struggle, dare to win! Builders Labourers fight deregistration, 1981–94"
''Labour History'', November 2004. Accessed: November 2010.

Selected books

Revolution is for us: The Left and Gay Liberation in Australia
''Interventions'', Melbourne, 2013.

(With Sandra Bloodworth, Janey Stone,

Tom O'Lincoln Tom O'Lincoln (27 August 1947 − 12 October 2023) was an American-Australian Marxist historian and author, and one of the founders of the International Socialist Tendency in Australia. O'Lincoln attended UC Berkeley in 1966 and joined the I ...

, Diane Fieldes. Edited by Bloodworth and O'Lincoln), ''Red Rag'', Melbourne, 2008.
How capitalism is costing us the earth
''Socialist Alternative'', Melbourne, 2008.

''Vulgar Press'', 2004.

Selected articles

It was a riot! 30 years since Australia's first Mardi Gras
''Socialist Alternative'', Edition 125, February 2008.
Why capitalism is not the answer
''ON LINE Opinion'', 2008.
Building Unions and Government Reform: the Challenge for Unions
''Journal of Australian Political Economy'', 2005.

''Australian Gay Left'', (Originally appeared in ''Socialist Action'' no 13, October 1986).

References

External links

Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Liz Living people Australian women's rights activists Australian LGBTQ rights activists Australian Trotskyists Activists from Melbourne Australian Marxist writers Labor historians Year of birth missing (living people) Australian socialist feminists