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 feminist theory and ideology

Radical feminists believe that society is an oppressive patriarchy, which primarily (or solely) oppresses women. Radical feminists seek to abolish this patriarchy. Some strands of radical feminism advocate replacing patriarchy with (matriarchy), which is still hierarchial. Others believe the true opposite of patriarchy is sorority. Because of this, some observers believe that radical feminism focuses on the gender oppression of patriarchy as the first and foremost fundamental oppression that women face.

Related Topics:
Patriarchy - Matriarchy

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Patriarchal theory is not always as single sided as the belief that all men always benefit from the oppression of all women. Patriarchal theory notes that dominant men use violent hierarchical social power to control non-dominant men as well as women. Additionally, patriarchal theory analyzes some societies (like contemporary Western societies) as allowing women to play an active role in patriarchy, by taking over the role of dominant male. In these forms patriarchal theory maintains that the primary element of patriarchy is a relationship of dominance, where one party (almost always male) is dominant and exploits the other party (generally women) for his own benefit.

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However, critiques of the above view have resulted in a different perspective on radical feminism held by some which acknowledges the simultaneity or intersectionality of different types of oppression which may include, but are not limited to the following: gender, race, class, perceived attractiveness, sexuality, ability, whilst still affirming the recognition of patriarchy. http://auto_sol.tao.ca/node/view/122

Related Topics:
Gender - Race - Class - Perceived attractiveness - Sexuality - Ability - Patriarchy

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