Feminism : The Quality Of Life For Women

Radical feminism, starting around the 1960s, sought to eradicate male supremacy. This wave of feminists believe that men are the main source of oppression and if you eliminate patriarchy, then everyone will

Furthermore, how did the goals of liberal and radical feminists differ? How did the two viewpoints complement one another? Liberal feminists wanted sexual equality through their actions and choices. They wanted have the same opportunities as men had. Radical feminists wanted to reorder the way society worked. They wanted to eliminate male supremacy in social and economic lifestyles. They both had different ideas on how to challenge sex-discrimination. Liberals wanted to be equal to the male sex while radicals sought to completely eliminate gender roles. They both are strategically different in ideas and beliefs, but both of these two groups aimed for the same objective. This objective is to eliminate sex-discrimination and to give women a better chance or opportunity in society also economically.

The main view of liberal feminism is that all people are created equal by God and deserve equal rights. These types of feminists believe that oppression only exists because of the way men and women are socialized by society, which supports patriarchy and keeps men in powerful positions. Liberal feminists believe that women have the same mental capacity as males and should

Burgess-Proctor (2006) indicated that, “radical feminism radical feminism identifies patriarchy, or male dominance, as the root cause of women’s oppression,” (p. 29). Individuals who perpetrate crime against women have deep discrimination towards them due to male-base power and privileges in that particular society. Radical feminists experience strong influence by the male dominance concept. Domestic violence is some of the radical feminist manifestation of male power. Socialist feminism provides that crime against women is a complex combination of sex and class oriented inequalities.

Daniel Drezner explains the ideas that many feminist’s share: the world is vastly different for women than it is for men. The gap between the genders is to the detriment of women. Radical feminist would concur with this point. Radical feminism centers on the idea that the suppression of the female gender is the main focus of all oppression within the world (Rowland and

Radical feminists- the aim was to challenge normal values of society and at the end this resulted in the rights been divided between the two genders. According to radicalists they believe that based on whether you are male or female will state how powerful you are in society.

Radical feminism which focuses on male patriarchy as the main cause of the oppression of women.

On the other hand, Radical feminists, such as Elizabeth Stanko argue that women's inequality begins in the home, and then extends outwards in the rest of society. If a women is unequal in a relationship with her husband at home, then she is unequal to other men in wider society, e.g. in the government and the media. Radical feminists focus on power relationships between men and women in private. They claim that men exploit and control women within the

Like Liberal Feminism, Radical Feminism seeks to end partriarchy. However; In contrast to Radical Feminism, focuses more on the issue of men’s oppression of women rather other social conditions. The crux of this perspective is sexuality which is seen as the locus of male power Mackinnon (1989a).

Radical Feminist theory analyses the structures of power which subjugate women. The central tenet is that women are collectively oppressed by men globally. They hold the belief that male power is constructed and perpetrated through institutional and cultural patriarchal practices that aim to bolster male superiority through the buttressing of

“Feminism by definition, is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men (google).” However, there are many different kinds of feminism. Feminists disagree what feminism consists of and what exactly should be done about it; there are many controversial arguments on what it means to be a woman or a man and what political implications each gender has or shouldn’t have. So what seems to be the dominant ideology or perception of feminism?

They believe and argue that since patriarchy is so pervasive and deeply entrenched in our societies molding our thoughts and attitudes, our assumptions and our basic institutions. Some radical feminists, such as Adrienne Rich or Mary O’Brien have focused on the special roles of females as mothers and caregivers, arguing that women must be relieved from having the sole responsibility or must be in control of them. Others such as Kate Miller highlight the violence that is perpetuated against women by focusing on domestic abuse, sexual harassment, rape, pornography, and the objectification of women. Most radical feminists believe that the construction of gender by a patriarchal society is responsible for the subjugation of women and henceforth should be rejected. Consequently some advocate for androgeny, which is the encompassment of both female and male traits as a treatment for the subjugation of women. Overall radical feminists advocate the rejection of the constructed

Among all these different kind of feminism, a single political agenda binds them together, a common purpose; gender equality. Like most things, there are misconceptions about certain subjects. For example the media tends to focus on feminist extremist, and (knowingly or unknowingly) perpetuates the stereotype that feminists hate men, and that their agenda includes the eventual societal elevation above men. Nothing could be further from the truth since the actual definition of feminism is, “The advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). Here we see that it is not a competition to the top of the pyramid, rather it is an effort to join the sexes in equality. The problem that arises from the definition is the lack of explanation of the methods, and ideologies, and that is breeding ground for speculation and therefore misconceptions. The solution to this problem is simple; we must acknowledge that there are different methods employed by different women to reach equality.

The basis of the study originated on multiple previous studies with added variables and altered surveys. The research began with a sound base and high reliability and validity. By taking previous information, the researchers were able to revalidate older studies and add new information. This was the first study done with sole female participants; the previous studies had looked at sexist discrimination before, but with males as well. Participants’ race was varied, adding to the external validity of the results. The analysis looked at the variables individually and collectively to produce more information from the data they collected. In addition, they studied private and public feminist identity in order to eliminate issues of construct validity in the definition.

Radical Feminism finds that reforms of liberal feminists are inadequate, they also feel that a social revolution would not end patriarchy. Instead, they feel that gender