Radical Feminism Beliefs: the basics
“Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical reordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts. Radical feminists view society as fundamentally a patriarchy in which men dominate and oppress women.”
Prostitution
Purchased consent is not consent, it’s coercion. Sex work is dehumanizing and traumatizing for women, and fueled by sex trafficking. The commodification of female sexuality is a mix of misogyny and capitalism.
Pornography
Prostitution on camera. See above for key points. Additionally, female sexuality should not be monetized and sold for male entertainment. The industry is rife with rape, abuse, coercion, trafficked women, drugged women, and CP. It harms not only the women involved in the videos (physically and mentally), but it also harms the viewers in the long run.
Surrogacy
Similar to prostitution and pornography in the sense that women’s bodies become acquirable products for sale or rent. A woman's organs should not be for rent, as it creates a perverse incentive. Most surrogacy is outsourced to disadvantaged women in developing nations, where they are made to sign contracts they can't read and undergo poor treatment.
Bodily Autonomy
Understanding that a woman should have complete and utter control of her reproductive system; including abortion, birth, and sterilization. Understanding a woman should have access to informed and accurate medical care. Understanding a woman should have complete control over when and if she engages in sex with a partner. Understanding that PIV is often an unequal act.
Nuclear Family
This allows for the isolation of women, both emotionally and financially. The family unit, ideally, includes a large safety net of family and friends who assist in child rearing. Women should not be financially dependent on men, as this open the potential for abuse and difficulty leaving via power imbalance.
Capitalism
The system that allows the commodification of women and their bodies. Women shouldn’t have to sell or rent out their bodies in order to survive.
BDSM/Kink
Wherein the majority of subs are women and the majority of doms are men. Fetishization of slavery, power imbalances, rape, incest, pedophilia, and abuse. Hurting your partner does not suddenly become healthy if you can orgasm to it. Power imbalances that lead to physical and emotional abuse and trauma.
Patriarchal Religions
All holy books were written by men and serve to maintain and legitimize patriarchal power structures. Patriarchal religions falsely attribute the gift of creation to men when in reality every man on earth was molded from the flesh of women.
Postmodernism/Queer Theory
Radical feminism is based on materialism. Women are oppressed because of their biological reality, which is not subjective, subjectable to changes or personal interpretations. Postmodernism and queer theory are.
The Beauty Industry
Fills up the pockets of men who make money by ever-changing standards of female beauty. Keeps women insecure, low self-esteem, their value and self-worth forever dependent on their physical appeal (to men). Demands women change how they appear (makeup, shaving, dieting, cosmetic surgeries) to appear prepubescent (lithe, hair free, firm not soft) which is a part of what we identify as 'pedophilia culture'.
Marriage
Marriage would be described by some as the wheels on which patriarchy is carried onwards. Historically, marriage has been nothing but a transaction: a daughter, who belonged to her father, now belongs to her husband. Her reproductive labor, domestic labor, emotional labor, and physical labor all at his disposal. This is how marriage continues to work and act culturally in a majority of societies
Individualism
As opposed to class analysis. Arguably the most overlooked and hardest ‘’issue’’ to overcome. It’s understandable that most women gravitate towards liberal feminism because they don’t have to analyze the reasons behind their actions, they don’t have to come to difficult and unappealing conclusions, they don’t have to feel the need to take action and stop engaging in whatever they are doing that’s harming women as a class. Known as 'choice feminism', which affirms any choice as a personal one, despite what influenced that choice or how it may affect the female class at large (see: plastic surgery, "makeup makes me feel confident!", "I like being hurt during sex!")
Gender Critical/Gender Abolitionist
Gender is a social class applied to biology. Each individuals sex is innate, and gender is the series of roles, expectations, socialization, cultural practices, and personality traits applied to that sex. Sex is "this baby has a vulva" and gender is "so give that baby a pink blanket and a dolly". Therefore, radical feminists understand that gender is a means of oppressing women. They wish to abolish gender. This creates clashes with pieces of trans rights activism, which upholds ones gender as innate. Read more here on this topic.
The main clashing beliefs are as follows:
-Being dysphoric doesn’t automatically means trans, since transitioning is only a way of treating dysphoria, and there are many reasons someone might be dysphoric.
-Instead of “identifying as a man/woman/nonbinary”, we should abolish gender altogether.
- Males remain male and females remain female, even if they’re dysphoric/gnc. Biology is innate. Therefore, for example, a transwoman that rapes someone, is an male abuser. It is male violence.
- Males have male privilege, regardless of how they identify, because society is built upon upholding and amplifying males.
- Females will be opressed, regardless of how they identify, because society is built upon the females-as-a-resource model that holds us as sexual and reproductive resources for male pleasure and male heirs.
Radical Feminist Goals
Women's liberation via the dismantling of male power structures, and the rejection of a woman's "role" within society as a lesser class.
Ways to Achieve This
Separatism/Male Exclusion - simply deciding to center one’s life and actions around females in all possible aspects. The keeping and protecting of female only spaces. Ultimately, this might look like a female-only society that any girl or woman could enter or leave at will.
Introspection - analyzing one’s actions and maybe asking oneself: why do I want these things? What's drives this action? Is this the healthiest option for me, physically and mentally? Am I hurting a woman or girl if I partake in this option?
Raising Awareness - of all the issues mentioned above. Talking to women and girls about radical feminism. This is not a solution but a step towards finding or creating more solutions as a community.
Being Politically Active - political agency and action is essential for female liberation; especially concerning topics such as reproductive rights, legislation of prostitution, electing representatives ETC.
Male Reform - investing time and effort into making men aware of the issues, in the hopes that they’ll do their part for the liberation of women and do the same with their fellow men.
Childrearing - Focus on advocacy and action around raising girls and boys the same way, to begin to treat the class divide at the root. This is very difficult without full societal support.
Conclusion
Radical feminism is for female people, by female people. It's ideology goes beyond these tenets, but the ideas presented above should allow you to derive answers as to what that might be. Radical feminism is also referred to as second wave feminism, and is compatible with Marxist feminism and the original principles of intersectional feminism. Thank you for reading.
