INTRO
“Feminism” according to Merriam Webster means the “belief in and advocacy of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes expressed especially through organised activity on behalf of women’s rights and interest”. The term “feminist” in this day and age has gained a bit of a negative connotation, like most things that women fight for. The implication that feminism has now become a movement of male hatred rather than a fight for women’s rights reiterates the idea of our world being male-centric.
LESSON 1: TYPES OF FEMINIST MOVEMENTS
When it comes to understanding and studying the feminist movement, we can broadly classify feminist theory into four types, there do exist far more theories, but if we were to divide to study them, we would broadly classify them as – radical, marxist, cultural, and liberal. This article will cover radical feminism for now. However it is important to note that each school of feminism holds importance in the progress of liberation of women, and while one may not agree with each school, diminishing its importance is neglecting the historical significance of it.
LESSON 2: WHAT IS RADICAL FEMINISM?
Radical Feminism as defined by Oxford is “a loosely formed, but highly visible movement within feminism calling for a substantial change to the structure of contemporary society (hence the designation ‘radical’), which originated in the US in the 1960s with the Women’s Liberation Movement. This movement of feminism believes that to truly attain the liberation and equality of women, society’s patriarchial foundation should be uprooted.
LESSON 3: HISTORY
Radical feminism emerged in the 1960s, within the working class and liberal feminism movement in the West. This school of feminism demanded a complete restructuring of society to uproot the foundation of women’s oppression: the patriarchal system. Radical feminists saw the patriarchy as something so deeply interwoven into society, from the family structure to larger systems like the legal system and the economy, to satisfy and maintain male dominance.
Radical feminists argued that societal change at such a foundational level wouldn’t come from requests but rather from radical actions. Protests, liberation groups and challenging ingrained norms, such as heterosexuality (which was seen as a reinforcement of male control) became their tools. Another interesting phenomenon worth checking out is a movement known as radical lesbianism which was taken up as a form of resistance.
Some important individuals in this movement include Shulamith Firestone, Kathie Sarachild, Ti-Grace Atkinson, Carol Hanisch, Roxanne Dunbar, Naomi Weisstein and Judith Brown. Simone de Beauvoir is considered a key figure in laying the foundation for Radical Feminism.
LESSON 4: HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
When we look at anything through a historical lens, it is important to look at both sides of the coin, the good and bad. Radical feminism as a movement brought a lot of good to the Women’s Liberation Movement, these include raising awareness of systemic oppression and highlighting structural inequalities that women face in society, and pioneering activism and other techniques of raising awareness about social issues whilst attempting to ensure that it was not male-dominated or male-centric, unlike many other movements before those.
There does exist a flipside, this movement did neglect some diverse experiences among women, especially concerning race and class. However, while it is important to look at its pitfalls, it is also important to not diminish its efforts entirely because of these specific sectors of it.
Looking at it politically, this movement was heavily misunderstood, both sides have wrongfully judged what it stood for. It is important that while we do analyse the movement historically, we must also become more aware of what it means to be a radical feminist and what it stands for.
LESSON 5: ELLEN WILLIS’ PAPER ON RADICAL FEMINISM
This school of feminism is considered to have put women’s liberation on the map, as told by Ellen Willis, a radical feminist in the 1960s. She tells us about how radical feminism while a powerful movement fizzled out towards the mid-1970s, giving way to cultural feminism instead. However, its very radical nature shows us how significant the movement was in the fight for women’s rights. Her paper titled ‘Radical Feminism and Feminist Radicalism’ brings interesting insights into this movement from the experiences of someone who was a part of it, and the paper is worth the read!
LESSON 6: ONLINE MISCONCEPTIONS
Radical feminism in today’s world tends to be unheard of if we compare it to larger sections of feminism such as liberal or choice feminism. Most people in online spaces might be aware of Radical Feminism through TERFs, i.e., trans-exclusionary radical feminists. As the name states, this sect does not believe that trans women are meant to be a part of the feminist movement altogether. The justification for this is that trans individuals perpetuate patriarchal gender norms. These feminists believe that women and men behave the way that they do due to socialisation and this in turn means that they are born with a sense of femininity or masculinity.
This concept directly goes against gender theory, which states that gender is a social construct. While trans women do have experiences that differ from those of cis (and or queer) women, their experiences are valid and do add to the fight for women’s rights. It cannot be considered a movement for women’s liberation if ALL women aren’t included.
Unfortunately, the movement of radical feminism in online spaces today has been tainted by how vocal TERFs are in their ideology, resorting to blatant transphobia whilst using feminism as a veil to justify their beliefs. It’s important to understand that one cannot classify the entire movement as trans-exclusionary solely because there exists a portion of individuals who believe so. Radical feminism stands for so much more, and scholars and fellow radfems are doing their best to make it as inclusive as possible.
OUTRO
Feminism never has been nor will ever be a movement about hating men, or oppressing men. That concept in practicality just isn’t possible. Feminism attempts to find the cracks of light in an oppressive system, to find a way to make existing easier for not just women, but for men as well. Radical feminism aims to fight the patriarchy, not men. Educating men on feminism is just as important. After all, in an oppressive system, the oppressed are too busy fighting to survive, it is only when the oppressors choose to make a change can we see a radical difference.