Radical feminism

From RationalWiki

“	I'm a radical feminist, not the fun kind.	”
—Andrea Dworkin

Radical feminism is a branch of feminism concerned with the concept of patriarchy and similar systems.^[1] It holds that true equality between the sexes can only be brought about by bringing down the inequality-maintaining power structure itself. Parallels are drawn between other oppressions, such as racism, although oppression of women is taken to be the most basic, and the patriarchy that maintains it acts as the model for all the others.^[2] As one might expect, radical feminism includes a strongly theoretical side, involved in studying patriarchy and its effects.

Contrary to the impression deliberately created by right-wing ideologues such as Rush Limbaugh of "feminazi" fame,^[3] the term "radical" does not refer to extreme or militant feminism, although some radical feminists are just that. Rather, radical feminists are those who "get to root causes"^[4] rather than dealing with superficial effects. However, the right has succeeded to some degree at convincing the public that instead of only opposing a system that benefits men, all feminists are in opposition to men in general. They do this by holding up those radical feminists who do engage in inflammatory rhetoric and harbor extreme ideas, such as Andrea Dworkin, Valerie Solanas, and Mary Daly --- poster children for the right's version of the term --- and then claiming that the only difference between these feminists and the rest is that the latter are better at masking their hate. (In the case of Andrea Dworkin, the wingnuts are denouncing her with one hand and ripping off her anti-pornography screeds with the other, leading to some amusement from bystanders.^[5])

"Radical feminist" hence serves as a snarl word against anyone who espouses leftist positions on sexual politics.