radical feminism ONCE AND FOR ALL!

[glitterspitter]

okay.

it seems that everyone is using the term "radical feminist" to discribe a feminist who has gone over the edge, hates men, wants a complete seperation of the sexes, loves abortions, etc.

well, i have considered myself a radical feminist since i was in high school and recently have seen my views come into alignment with socialist feminism.

to me, being a radical feminist means i am MOBILIZED toward change, a restucturization of our society, not only "reforms". i recognize the need to work within the the current system to get certain rights that we deserve (such as pay equity), but i think radical change is in order. i realize this kind of feminism is probably the most scary to some people, as people, esp. those in power, fear change, however, my beliefs do NOT mean that i think men should have NO power. it does NOT mean that i think that abortion is peachy and everyone who's feeling not up to having a kid should go out and have one right away, it does NOT mean i think men should all be moved to an island far far away.

like this definition from
here:

[Radical feminism] views the oppression of women as the most fundamental form of opression, one that cuts across boundaries of race, culture, and economic class. This is a movement intent on social change, change of rather revolutionary proportions, in fact. Radical feminism questions why women must adopt certain roles based on their biology, just as it questions why men adopt certain other roles based on theirs. Radical feminism attempts to draw lines between biologically-determined behavior and culturally-determined behavior in order to free both men and women as much as possible from their previous narrow gender roles.


the reason i am also starting to see myself as a socialist feminist is because the issue of class is of great interest to me. i am beginning to see how much it factors in to the equation.

here is one somewhat incomplete definition of socialist feminism:

Socialist Feminism links women's oppression to the class structure. Sexism is a way of rewarding the working class male; it gives them control over women. Women's work is less valued because it does not produce exchangeable goods.



the links i have posted have some other definitions as well. and there are of course many more sources on the net and elsewhere.

there is so much more to learn for all of us! it doesn't make you any less of a feminist to not be a radical feminist, but PLEASE do some research, than *think* before you use this term in such an insulting way. if it wasn't for many "radical" feminists we wouldn't be where we are today.