woman in globalisation

Friday, March 23, 2007 What the "Radical" in Radical Feminism really Means In my experience most people struggle to understand what I mean when I refer to myself as a "radical feminist". I get the impression that they think this means "I'm an extreme feminist" or, I'm particularly militant, a man-hater, the kind of feminist that advocates male castration. This is far from the case. Radical feminism is a particular strand of feminist theory/action that is unique to other strands (such as liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, ecofeminism, postmodern feminism etc.) in its understanding of women's oppression. The term ‘radical’ means “pertaining to the root” (Rowland and Klein, 1996, 9). Radical feminists are committed to the task of finding, naming and examining the root of oppression (Bell and Klein, 1996, xxiii; Jaggar, 1983, 84). Fundamental to radical feminist theory is the understanding that women are a social group who are oppressed by men, as a social group (Rowland and Klein, 1996, 11). In contrast to other streams of feminist theory, radical feminism argues that women’s oppression is the primary form of oppression (as opposed to class, or race, etc.) (Jaggar and Rothenberg, 1984, 186). In the words of Robin Morgan: I call myself a Radical Feminist, and that means specific things to me. The etymology of the word ‘radical’ refers to ‘one who goes to the root’. I believe that sexism is the root oppression, the one which, until and unless we uproot it will continue to put forth the branches of racism, class hatred, ageism, competition, ecological disaster, and economic exploitation (in Rowland and Klein, 1996, 10). For radical feminists, like Morgan, women’s oppression is the first form of oppression, from which enables the existence of all other forms of oppression. As Marilyn French states: “[if] it is possible to justify men’s domination of women, it is possible to justify any and all forms of domination” (in Tong, 1989, 98). Radical feminists are unique to other feminists, in that they understand the oppression of women to be a universal phenomenon (Rowland and Klein, 1996, 18). They argue that women, regardless of race, class, religion or political ideology, have more in common with each other than they do with any men (in Rowland and Klein, 1996, 18). Women are united as a social group as a result of their shared experiences of oppression within male dominated society. Radical feminism rose from women’s disillusionment with social activist groups they had fought for change with during the 1960s and 70s (Jaggar, 1983, 83). Radical feminists were among the first feminists to assert that women would not experience emancipation as a result of existing economic, class, or political based revolutionary efforts (Jaggar, 1983, 83-4). Unlike earlier feminist movements, for example liberal and Marxist feminism, radical feminism is not a by-product of an older, male centred political ideology (Morgan, 1996, 5). And is described as a movement “created by women for women” (Rowland and Klein, 1996, 11). Radical feminists argue that gender distinctions between women and men dictate every aspect of women’s lives, from what they wear to what employment opportunities are available to them. Shulamith Firestone states that “[sex] class is so deep as to be invisible” (Firestone, 1972, 11). Firestone suggests that because women’s oppression runs so deeply into every aspect of their lives, that it is sometimes difficult to identify as a class of oppressed peoples. Thus it is the project of radical feminism to make the invisible causes of women’s oppression visible. One of the most useful tools radical feminists have developed in order to do this, is the understanding that personal experiences (including issues as seemingly trivial as who women date, and how often they clean the house) and events that take place outside the public sphere, are politically significant. This underlying philosophy of radical feminism is known as “the personal is political”. “The personal is political” asserts that the everyday activities of women have political meaning. Women’s oppression is not something that only happens ‘out there’ in the public world of economics, employment and governance. Women’s oppression can be found in every aspect of their personal lives as well (Scutt, 1996, 102). In contrast to liberal feminists, who focus on women’s experiences of oppression in the public realm, radical feminists refuse to uphold the division between public and private. They examine the private sphere through a political lens, because they believe the division between public and private has been used to hide the abuses women have suffered at the hands of their husbands, lovers, fathers, brothers, and sons (Jeffreys, 2005, 10). As Sheila Jeffreys states: The ‘private’ nature of this world has long protected men from punishment because it has been seen as being outside the law that only applies in public world. Thus marital rape was not a crime in this worldview, and domestic violence was a personal dispute (Jeffreys, 2005, 10-11). For radical feminists, the ‘personal’ cannot be dismissed as apolitical, because like the public sphere, the private sphere is structured in such a way as to deny women power. By ignoring the politics of the personal, social critics enable the abuse and subjugation of women to continue in the private sphere. The radical feminist agenda includes campaigns against pornography, prostitution, rape, compulsory heterosexuality and compulsory motherhood. Each of these campaigns is underlined by an understanding that women suffer these forms of oppression because they are women. Furthermore, radical feminists argue that within male dominated society, women’s worth is only as good as their ability to serve men. Be that sexual, psychological, or reproductive servitude. Rosemarie Tong states “[r]adical feminists have repeatedly shown us how women’s bodies can be used by men against women and how they can be used by women for women” (Tong, 1989, 138). In summary, radical feminism refers to a strand of feminist theory/activism that understands that: women's oppression is the root of all oppression, that all women no matter what their class, religion or race may be are a social group with a shared identity, the world is patriarchal - and this is particularly evident when we consider how women's bodies are perceived and treated, and that the personal is political. Finally, radical feminists believe that women require a movement "by women, for women" if we are to end patriarchal oppression. Bibliography Bell, D. and Klein, R. "Beware: Radical Feminists Speak, Read, Write, Organise, Enjoy Life, and Never Forget" in Bell, D. and Klein, R. (Eds), Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed, Spinifex Press, 1996. xvii-xxx. Firestone, Shulamith. The Dialectic of Sex. London: The Women’s Press. 1979. Jaggar, Alison. M. Feminist Politics and Human Nature. New Jersey: Rowman and Allanhead. 1983. Jaggar, A. M. and Rothenberg, P. S. Feminist Frameworks. McGraw-Hill, 1984. Jeffreys, Sheila. Beauty and Misogyny: harmful cultural practices in the west, London: Routledge, 2005. Morgan, R. (1996). Light Bulbs, Radishes, and the Politics of the 21st Century in Bell, D. and Klein, R. (Eds), Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed, Spinifex Press, pp. 5-9. Rowland, Robyn and Renate Klein. “Radical Feminism. History, Politics, Action.” Diane Bell and Renate Klein (eds.) Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed. Melbourne: Spinifex. 1996, pp.9-36. Scutt, Jocelynne. A. “The Personal is Political.” Diane Bell and Renate Klein (eds.) Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed. Melbourne: Spinifex. 1996, pp 102-110. Tong, Rosemarie, Feminist Thought: a comprehensive introduction, Boulder: Westview Press, 1989.