Women's Studies    3050    Spring 2005    Powell and MacKay

Week 5 Radical Feminism

Radical feminists may or may not be anti-capitalist. They see the basic division in all societies as that between men and women and clearly state that men are the oppressors of women.
The term 'patriarchy' is often used to describe this systematic and universal oppression. For many radical feminists, patriarchal relations underlie all other forms of oppression - class oppression, color oppression and imperialist oppression.

• Some radical feminists see women's role in reproduction as both motivating and enabling men to take power over them,.
• Others emphasis the wish of men to control women's sexual availability or to use their unpaid domestic labor in marriage.
• Because of their common oppression, women form a social group who share common interests - common interests that override differences between them.
  They must struggle as women to overthrow patriarchy and oppression in women-only groups.
• The ultimate aim is to change gender relations fundamentally - sometimes expressed as eliminating male power, sometimes as eliminating male values in favor of female values.

Radical-Libertarian Feminism

Radical-Libertarian feminists believe that femininity and reproduction limit women's capacity to contribute to society. Women should essentially be androgynous. Radical-Libertarian feminists like to violate sexual norms and believe that women should control every aspect of their sexuality. They also advocate artificial means of reproduction so that less time is devoted to pregnancy and more time is devoted to worthwhile things. They are strong promoters of abortion, contraceptives and other forms of birth control.

Radical-Cultural Feminism

Radical-Cultural feminist views are dramatically different from Radical-Libertarian feminists views. The Radical-Cultural feminists believe that women should encompass their femininity because it is better than masculinity. Mary Daly advocates finding the “wild female within.” This type of radical feminist sees sex and penetration as male dominated. They see a link between sex, female subordination, porn, rape and abuse. These must be eliminated, according to Cultural-Radical feminists. Yet another opposing view is that reproduction is the source of power for women. They believe that men are jealous of women, and that they try to control reproduction through means of technology.

Reading: Tong, chapter 2

Redstockings Manifesto (1969)
The SCUM Manifesto  (excerpts) 1968)

Visit Kate Millet's Farm: An Art Colony for Women
Also: the 1999 Salon.com article "Kate Millett, the ambivalent feminist."

Also a 1988 article by Sharon Franklin [PDF] "The Dialectic of Sex: Shulamith Firestone Revisited'  View as HTML
A 1999 interview of Mary Daly from Enlightenment Magazine.

From the Andrea Dworkin Online Library, read 1 selection of your choice

Read 1 of the 27 poems by Adrienne Rich posted online (at the bottom of the page)

 

 

Use GenderWatch to access current periodicals focused on women and gender issues. Find an article which you consider expresses a radical feminist point of view. Due: February 10