Radical Feminism

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

Radical feminism is a diverse body of thought that has its roots in the U.S. civil rights movement as well as the New Left political movements in America in the 1960s. Women involved in these radical groups became dissatisfied with what they saw as sexist elements within them. They became increasingly focused on struggles for women's rights and developed theory committed to ending female oppression and to promoting emancipation and progress. Radical feminists believe that all women, regardless of ethnic, class, religious, or any other difference, share a common experience of oppression and pain, and this belief has become the rallying cry for the movement. It gained support in the United Kingdom and Australia during the 1960s and became increasingly ideologically diverse through the 1970s.

Two distinct forms of radical feminism are often identified: (1) libertarian and (2) cultural. they differ in their emphasis and in the value that is placed on ideas of femininity and femaleness. A radical libertarian approach emphasizes the emancipation of women from their reproductive and domestic roles and the development of societies no longer determined by biological imperatives and polarized sexual roles. In contrast, radical cultural feminism fully embraces the essential femaleness of woman, focusing on the importance and value of female qualities. Radical cultural feminists argue that such qualities were not only different from but also superior to male characteristics. They suggest that distinctive qualities arising out of experiences of motherhood and women's connection with nature give women greater capacity for empathy and caring. In contrast, male sexuality is viewed as aggressive and domineering, intent on the control and submission of women. Radical cultural feminism therefore places great emphasis on identifying universal and coherent gender categories of “man” and “woman” and on identifying clear patterns of difference between them. It is assumed [Page 778]that women perceive the world differently than men and embrace certain values that are derived from their material, marginalized, and alienated positions. Women's oppression therefore provides them with a unique standpoint that is privileged and better able to expose the reality of gender subordination. A dominant strategy of radical cultural feminists is the creation of parallel female counter-cultures, in which female values are nurtured and lesbianism is highly valued. Different types of women-only initiatives, such as women's health centers, rape crisis centers, and women's studies programs, were created by women and for women. It has been suggested that the emphasis within these types of feminist groups was on lifestyle issues and that the most effective political action was viewed as the complete separation from all men and engaging in women-centered organizing.

A radical feminist approach is therefore often defined as the construction of theory on women, for women, and by women, with the emphasis on the importance of studying and theorizing women's situations and experiences. An important aspect of radical feminist ideology is the emphasis on patriarchal gender relations that produces male supremacy and female oppression. Patriarchy is defined as a relationship of dominance, and radical feminists have used the term to show how men use social systems to dominate women and to make them subordinate. Patriarchy is viewed as a pervasive and transhistorical system of institutionalized relationships of power. Freedom for women can be achieved only when they break out from the patriarchal system and discover their own “true” consciousness and voice. Therefore, rather than focusing on barriers facing women, radical feminists challenge the cultural imperatives that determine how processes such as organizations and families should be structured. Organizational bureaucracies are viewed not as rational but as fundamentally gendered, privileging male characteristics of rationality and reason over female values of caring and nurturance. Feminine ways of organizing are viewed as very different from male bureaucratic forms, and radical feminists argue that the latter need to be challenged and overthrown in order to eliminate the oppression of women. Women's resistance is constructed within a grand project of societal transformation, with the belief that a reordering of society will ultimately liberate everyone from injustice and oppression. The emphasis within the approach is on the promotion of the feminine and female qualities as a way of organizing or, more radically, on a move away from participation with men into separate women-only organizations, run along feminine principles to fulfill women's needs.

...