Radical Feminist Struggle Against Women

Early feminism was typically focused only on white women, likely because racism was still extremely prominent at the time feminism began emerging. It was not until Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term “intersectionality” in 1989 that feminism started to look at oppressed group’s needs (Nash, 2008, 2). Intersectionality is a way of thinking that acknowledges that when a person has identities that belong to more than one oppressed group, it impacts their quality of life more negatively. In this paper, I will argue that intersectionality is important in the discussion of feminist theories and activism because it ensures that feminism is for all women, not just a select group of them. Intersectionality has changed the way the feminist movement handles the overlapping of different identities, which has helped feminist theorists understand the experiences of women of colour much more clearly. While intersectionality has a very important role in the conversation and practice of feminism, there are certainly critiques of the concept that should be brought up. These critiques, however, can offer a way to improve the study of intersectionality.

Not to dismiss the importance of mainstream feminist organizations such as NOW, but I believe more radical feminist protests had a larger impact on changing gender expectations in the second half of the Twentieth Century. These more radical protests captured the eye of the media which made the world (at least the USA) interested in what the feminist movement was all about. One of the more significant protest that captured the attention of the United States media that the documentary and article both mention, happened at the Miss America contest in 1968. The two main actions of the protest were the ‘Freedom Trash Can’ and the ‘Women’s Liberation’ sign unveiled during the actual contest. Women were filmed throwing symbols of their oppression

Radical feminists claim that patriarchal oppression is direct and personal. Not only does it occur in the public sphere of work and politics but also in the private sphere of the family, domestic labour and sexual relationships. Radical feminists refer to these relationships as sexual politics. Radical feminists therefore focus on the ways in which patriarchal power is exercised through personal relationships, often through sexual or physical violence or the threat of it. Brownmiller notes that fear of rape is a powerful deterrent against women going out alone at night.

Marxist feminism is a sub-category of the larger feminist theory; this kind of feminism is primarily attentive to explaining how women are oppressed through capitalist systems and the emergence of the concept of private property. According to Marxist feminists, women's true emancipation, all over the world, can only be achieved through a fundamental reorganization of the capitalist economy that does not fairly compensate women's labor. Additionally, Marxist feminists do criticize Marx for what they think was his partial analysis of sexism under capitalism and total indifference to gender imbalance. However, they do not dismiss the basic Marxist fundamentals.

An impact evaluation is an evaluation that is used to evaluate the outcomes of a policy, did the program have its intended effects? If not, why? (Leslie. A Pal pp276, 2014). Bill C-36 took the radical feminist perspective on how to deal with sex work arguing that sex work is a violation of women’s human rights, within the radical feminist perspective, there can be no distinction between ‘voluntary’ and ‘forced prostitution’, as no person can consent to such a grave violation of themselves (Galbally P. J. pp 10, 2016). The radical feminist framework is strongly linked to the victimizations of young Canadians as stated above and assumes that every individual who is involved in the sex work industry has been placed they’re against their own

Secondly, liberal feminism has been criticised because it tends to assume that all women accept their gender identities in a passive way. Liberal feminism also does not take race or class into consideration. Marxist feminists believe women's subordination is down to the influence of capitalism. Women are seen as a reserve army of labour.' Companies only hire them when they really need them, and they do less important jobs than men, making them more disposable. Women change jobs more frequently than men, so are more vulnerable at times of redundancy, they tend to be less skilled, and capitalist ideologies locate women in the home.

In this sense, then, rather than retaining the idea of feminism as something that stretched from its radical incarnation to its liberal form, we have to broaden the scope of its reference to the whole of the political spectrum (Power p.13).

The United States is known as the land of the free, but this was not always the case. Because of religious reasons, women were supposed to be reserved and subservient towards their husbands. It was not until the early-mid 19th century that women gained enough ground to begin discussing women’s rights in the United States. They gained basic rights for a less subservient life style; marriage became a thing of love not obligation. The second wave of feminism came in the 1960s when women saw the opportunity to become completely equal with men in the United States. Out of this third wave came several groups of feminists. The feminist movement in the United States has changed almost incredibly from the call for basic rights to a call past equality,

Whenever one looks at historical social movements, one common element that one often will find is that one of their major goals is to push for equality. The women's suffrage movement, the African American Civil Rights movement and the current struggle that LGBT Americans have for greater acceptance within society are all examples of this seeking of equality. However, one question that should be asked is whether or not equality within society can be achieved and thus if such actions to increase equality are legitimate. This is not to question the historic discrimination that existed for many of those social movements that sought equality, but rather to examine the notion that equality can exist within a society at all and if so at what costs.

The response to the way women are dealt with, radical scholars agree that women turn to substance abuse and criminal activity. Marxist women's activist conjecture bridges patriarchy into the elements of free enterprise when female offenders are sentenced for property or sexual criminal activity. Socialist feminism strives to create equal roles for women as, child bearers, servants, and homemakers, so they can assume their licit place in society. Socialist feminism is a two part theory on the basis that it increases the scope of Marxist's theories and the radical women's activist theory .The extent of perception in women's activist criminology focuses on merging both society and private sectors of a woman’s livelihood and an end to the financial and the social continual pattern of a woman’s abuse.

Feminism is deeply critical of the character of modern societies, where it’s arguments can be based on fundamental inequalities. Like Marxism which locates the roots of inequality in capital ownership, feminism points to the domination of males in society (patriarchy) being the root of human inequalities and injustices. We see that inequalities are pervasive aspects of our modern lives meaning men have economic, political, and cultural power while women do not. It is seen that women occupy the marginal spaces of private life and domesticity while men generally control public life. We tend to normalize the oppression of women and that is with the help of cultural products like television, film and other popular mediums. “The media enables traditional gender stereotypes because it reflects prevailing social values” (Comm 3263, 2011). Which leads to the realization that our world is structured by a sexual imbalance in mass media culture.

In modern world the meaning of the word ‘rebellion’ has changed. In the past we have always considered rebellions and revolutions as an act of rising against the government almost always resulting with some kind of fight. However, in present times we have expanded the definition of the word. Now people believe that fighting against social norms forced by society is also rebellion. Nevertheless, there is visible similarity between the past forms of rebellions with the new ones that are yet to be overcome.

However, things began to grow worse for them when women began getting involved with the Civil Rights movement, as the male leaders often did not take them seriously.

This brings me to the point of how feminist theory is measured on the basis of how we may view sin. I would have to admit, first and foremost, I am not what you would call a radical feminist, on the other hand, speaking from a female posture, I strongly believe in equality for men and women from many different standpoints. I believe, men and women both should be afforded the same rights and opportunities. Although, this is what I believe, we must not be naïve to the fact that we live in an imperfect world, surrounded by many forms of sin, and not all people will take this stance. I draw from the painful reality of my very own personal experience that led me to this realism. Recently, I served in the capacity as Youth Pastor, at a well-known

Radical feminism is detrimental to society, goes against biblical principles, and gives American society skewed views about the roles and rights of women. Although the first and second waves of feminism set a solid foundation for the 21st century, the third wave has broken from the movements original integrity and purpose. Furthermore, the third wave has produced more damage to gender roles then it has done good. Even though, radical feminism claims to bring men and women together for equal political, economic, and social rights, a majority of the fruit it bears has been negative. In essence, it is evident that the third wave of feminism has diminished the efforts of America’s first and second waves of feminism, and in the progress strayed