Radical feminism

Radical feminism is a branch of feminism that views women's oppression as a fundamental element in human society and seeks to challenge that standard by broadly rejecting standard gender roles. "Radical" (from Latin r?d?x, r?d?c-, root) in radical feminism is used as an adjective meaning the root; radical feminists seek the root cause of women's oppression. The traditional Radical feminist standpoint may be expressed as viewing the division in all societies as that between men and women and stating that men are the oppressors of womenhttp://pers-www.wlv.ac.uk/~le1810/femin.htm. These concepts were first developed in the late sixties as a significant part of second-wave feminism.

Radical feminism and Marxism

Some strains of radical feminism have been compared to Marxism in that they describe a "great struggle of history" between two opposed forces. Much like the Marxist struggle between classes (typically the proletariat and bourgeoisie), radical feminism describes a historical struggle between "women" and "men". Radical feminism has had a close, if hostile, relationship with Marxism since the 1970s. Both Marxists and radical feminists seek a total and radical change in social relations; believe themselves to be on the political left; and, are primarily active amongst Western university students. Despite this commonality, as ideologies Marxism and radical feminism have generally opposed one another. In practice, however, activist alliances generally form around shared immediate goals.

Related Topics:
Marxism - Classes - Proletariat - Bourgeoisie

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Some radical feminists are explicitly avowed Marxists, and attempt to explore relationships between patriarchal and class analysis. This strain of radical feminism can trace its roots to the Second International (in particular the Marxists Rosa Luxembourg and Alexandra Kollontai). These strains of radical feminism are often referred to as "Marxist feminism".

Related Topics:
Second International - Rosa Luxembourg - Alexandra Kollontai - Marxist feminism

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