How do you define "radical feminism"?

Answer 1

Radical Feminism:

1) Feminism that attempts to force its way into the lives, cultures,
societies, and families of those who do not hold the same views.

2) Feminism that belittles and considers "oppresive" any culture or society that does not submit to their views.

3) Feminism that contradicts feminism in attempting to belittle men in order to empower women.

Answer 2

has anyone that actually answered here spent the time to study how incredibly diverse the different paths of feminism can be?

the basic premise of feminism is more along the lines of this:

'the 'insane' notion that women are human beings.'

that's feminist sarcasm, if you didn't get it, folks.

liberal feminism is basically the same philosophy, but it believes that achieving the goals of feminism can be made to happen by working within the system and changing it from inside out.

i.e. work towards being so involved in the system that your goals are adopted by it; more laws protecting women from domestic violence, more understanding and prevention of the causes of sexual abuse, taking the reigns of society and making mandates that make the best changes through the avenues already there.

on the other end, radical feminism, essentially espouses that the ends are more important than the means, and you do not need to 'play by the rules' and change society that way.

i.e. if a guy is going to rape you and you pull out a gun and shoot him in the head, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. (remember that not all places around the world that would be considered self defence in any way) or, if you know of a young girl who is being systematically abused, sexually or otherwise, by a grown man, and her 'family' doesn't do anything about it, there's nothing wrong with getting her out of that situation if you think the abuse will go on, even if that means a physical confrontation with the man.

now, ive posted a couple more extreme versions of 'what-ifs' and the essence of radical feminism is not entirely about justifying violence, nor is the essence of liberal feminism totally about playing by the rules.

truth be told, in all my years of studyijng, supporting, and believing in feminism, 9 out of 10 people i have met have absolutely NO clue as to what feminism is really about. It has nothing to do with hating men; has nothing to do with females being superior. None of that crap; those idiots you see on TV at night are 1% of 1% of what honest to goodness feminists and feminism is all about. They are about as politically and intellectually valid as taking examples of 5 religious fanatics actions and telling the whole world that every single person who is in any way related to that religion, must be the EXACT same as them.

a little education helps, and I am very happy to consider myself a feminist.

and I'm a white, hetero, middle class male.

Answer 3

I see it as opressing or exploiting men (or women) to lift womankind up, and pushing feministic views on people who don't necessarily want them- that that way of life is good for all.

I was watching one of those 20/20 or MSNBC news specials, and the topic covered women who were getting ready to make the choice of going back to work or continuing to stay at home with their children. There was an older career woman who was pushing for women to get back to work, citing statistics of women in the workforce, in college, etc. She was illustrating that any woman who was a stay at home mom was being pushed into it by men, and that any woman who claims that way of life was discreditting all that strong women/feminists have worked so hard for- that SAHM's are taking a step back for womankind. She, herself, had 5 kids but also worked out of the home the entire time. I think she was a CEO or something big.

The problem there is that her view of feminism is for a forceful push for all women to work. She's taking away an individual's choice for what she believes to be best for her family. That's by far radical if not oppressive.

Answer 4

A radical feminist:

1. Is rabidly pro-abortion
2. Is paranoid that they'll be held down by The Patriarchy (TM)
3. Thinks that males and females are interchangeable (they're not)
4. Thinks that acknowledging differences between the sexes is the same as saying they're not equal
5. Thinks that a housewife is wasting her time and is a leech, and thinks that worth is determined by a paycheck

(I'm pro-life, and I'm a housewife that's anti-feminism.)

Answer 5

Hello Dear:

Radical feminism is a branch of feminism that views women's oppression (or patriarchy) as the basic and pervasive evil upon which human relationships in society are arranged.

Answer 6

Radical Feminism:
Radical feminists are able to see the connections between patriarchy, class, race, homophobia and violence.
To be a feminist one must be: pro-choice, anti-racist, anti-violence, anti-classist, pro-family, and anti-patriarchal religion (unless it is a radical, pro-equality sect that exists within). It's also acknowledging women's capacity for carrying on sexist ideas and men as having a key role to play in ending patriarchy.

Answer 7

Radical feminists dont want equality with men, they want to separate themselves completely from men, believing women should live in women only colonies etc. This is opposed to say, liberal femininsts, who would act to see that they are treated the same as men.

Answer 8

To achieve equality by any means necessary.