Do you think feminism is radical enough?

Question

Feminism is often accused of being radical-but is it radical enough? US feminists often try to appease feminism's attackers-but won't this dilute the movement and affect the rights women presently have (such as the right to birth control and abortion) as well as the rights women don't have-such as the right to register like men do for selective service and if qualified-apply like men do for any combat military position?

Answer 1

It's too radical where it shouldn't be (family law, etc.) and not radical enough where it should be (Third World, draft, etc.).

Answer 2

Depends upon your definition of Radical....

Radical feminist are the hard core, women are better then men, all men are rapist, lesbians only can be feminist, STHM's are the enemy etc etc

These women, have taken feminism to a stand still here in the US and give the rest of us a bad name....to be honest until the moderate/average feminist stand up and kick the "radicals" feminist out.  We will make few changes for the better.

So in away...we/feminism need to de-radical the movement. Repair a few bridges.  So we can be come the "Radicals" our ancestor feminist were.  lol you know those radicals who thought women should be able to vote...

Still a feminist dsds...it was a joke, I was trying to make a point about labels and box's but I never was a radical femimist.

Answer 3

Yes Grace we have had Dozens of Demonstrations of the Feminist Spartan Women demanding to be signed up for Combat Infantry. What are you smoking? Women have engaged in Guerilla warfare in Africa and in Asia when insurgent movements would take any Warm Body. But the reality is that Women are physically not capable of the rigors of combat. It is not about their courage. It is about their physical capacity. The ability to take punishment and accomplish the mission.

It is about Biology not sexism. The Radical Feminists are in fact Socialists whose goal is get more Men killed and to weaken our military. Code Pink is a Feminist Peace movement. That supports North Korea, Cuba and Communism. They do not care how many disposable Men are killed.

A Presidential Commission explored this subject. No modern nation has been able to incorporate Women with any success into Combat Units or Special Operations. None. It is a fantasy for the Movies and Hollywood. Its nonsense.

And as for your Radical Feminists. They have said nothing about the 50,000 to 100,000 Moslem polygamists in the US. Nothing about the Honor Killings of two Teenage Girls in North Texas. Whose Mother is now in hiding. Yeah they are really and truly brave.

Answer 4

For me, I see radical feminism as trying to strive for some feminist utopia that's never going to happen. I studied radical feminism (WS major) and most of what I disagree with comes from this branch of feminism.  

Here are some of my reasons:

-I encountered a lot of theory dealing with separatism.

-I get annoyed by things that weren't meant to be sexist labeled as such. (Whether it's coming from a man or a woman)

-Radical feminism doesn't want to work within the constraints of current social structures. If capitalism/patriarchy were replaced, what would replace it? Socialism? Something teetering on the edge of communism? Good intentions are not enough for me. These particular frameworks don't take into account the human aspects of greed, nihilism, etc.

-In terms of DV, there really is a bulk of theory out there that paints a picture that only men can be abusers/rapists. I think in some ways, it really just replicates the paternalistic attitude towards women (we're fragile and need special protection) that they really want to get away from. I think if we really want to do something about violence, we need to look at it from multiple perspectives, including violence done by women.

When I think about and/or criticize radical feminism I'm thinking along the lines of theory and how those theories are applied to real life.

Nowadays, I just have the feeling that feminism has lost focus and we need to go back to basics. What I mean by that is perhaps we need modern consciousness-raising groups. And they don't need to be a top-down sort of thing, with decisions made by national organizations that are out of touch with what is really on the minds of most women today.

So is feminism radical enough? Yes and no. For some aspects I just want to scream...enough already! But for others, I wonder if enough has been done or if the wrong approach is being taken.

Good question.

Answer 5

Radicals will breed opposing radicals. It will only hurt the cause and divide people. If you want a movement to survive and be adopted by the general public, the radicals must be eliminated.

Answer 6

What is radical?

Getting 50% of women into the armed forces. Do you think men are rushing to join the army. Men only join as a last resort when they have no alternative viable means of income, ie to avoid poverty and lack of employment. So I think women are not missing much.

The PKK in Iraq apparently employ a lot of women in their terrorist fight against Turkey and they are Muslim. Apparently they are more vicious than the men.

Answer 7

Any radical or radical portion of a movement has the potential to be highly dangerous. Such things need to be monitored very closely if not eradicated. Radicals have dangerous agendas. They are intolerant and will use any method at their disposal in pursuit of their extremist goals.

Any movement would benefit from the absence of radicals tarnishing it's reputation.

Answer 8

agree with rose. You lost her waswasgirl. rose is non feminist right now

Answer 9

????

What do you mean radical enough?

The point is that women are human beings, and therefore have the rights as the other kind of human beings.

We don't need any more radical thing than that.

I know no feminists who try to appease anti-feminisists. If you've given any kind of example, I might have been able to give a more helpful response.

Answer 10

Thank you for articulating what I have been thinking for many months now.

Since you haven't defined 'radical' then I will.  In this context I mean vocal and less conciliatory.

A weak-kneed approach designed to appease critics threatens to unravel progress already made.  Too many young feminists are quick to apologize for imaginary sins.  Sadly, they too have bought into the BS propagated by the pop-culture media and have been successfully intimidated by elements of the Backlash.  To be fair,  I think this is symptomatic of a larger general problem underscoring poor education, a societal trend towards anti-intellectualism and underdeveloped critical thinking skills.

*Why do these twits harp on with this idiotic "biology is destiny" mantra?  They don't even bother to address the question.  They don't even understand the question...