My feminist manifesto is a reclamation of what it means to be a radical feminist and why radical feminism is important for the current political climate. The concept of radical has taken on many cultural definitions that distract from what the term actually means. Radical can be defined as: relating to the origin of,(Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Often times, radical brings forth images of “political rebels” or “rule breakers” and when placed in front feminism, the images become more distracting from the real definition of the word, portraying women as “man hating” and violent.
The ideologies, theories and politics of radical feminists have a long and important history in the women’s movement, but has been co-opted by popular culture and other hegemonic forces to change the meaning of what it means to be a radical feminist. If you take some browsing online, you can find definitions of radical feminism that counter the dominant imagery. Wikipedia defines radical feminism as “Radical feminism is a current within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption of "male supremacy" used to oppress women. I am calling for feminists (and myself) to reconsider radical, which is to go to the origin of issues we face as feminists.
My RADICAL feminist manifesto:
In order to create change you have to understand to the root of the problem.
Understanding the root of social issues is the only way to lead to change. For example radical feminism challenges me to understand the issue of rape as a result of of gendering as a whole and not as a problem with certain individuals will be the only way to stop the perpetuation of this type of violence. Identifying issues as systemic will lead to broader examinations, revealing the root of a problem will lead to a solution.
Understanding terms like “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy"are complicated.
As Women’s Studies students I (and we) am conditioned to dialogues that use these terms, and are often times uncritical of them because of their seemingly simplified meanings. It is important that these terms are understood as complex and have systemic consequences on equality. In order for me to understand the nature of oppressions I must understand the complex nature of the interlocking concepts. This idea comes from the work of bell hooks, you can find her discussion of this idea here: http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=402
“you cant dismantle the master’s house with the master’s tools”- Audre Lorde.
This quote by Audre Lorde is fundamental to my radical feminist manifesto. It has powerful metaphorical imagery that demonstrates the importance of not working within the systems that create oppressions to end these same oppressions. When you think of what tools are needed to make a house, one thinks of wood, hammers, nails and saws. Dismantling a house calls for much larger tools, such as wrecking balls and sledge hammers. This challenges me to consider ways to fight issues like patriarchy outside of the system that continues it’s power. In order to create change we, as feminists must seek tools that can attack systemic forces without perpetuating them. ( http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/audre-lorde)
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading you post because I also identify as a radical feminist and it is refreshing to hear that someone else has a similar approach to how we need to approach issues in our feminist work.
In the past when I have discussed radical feminism with other people, some women’s studies some not, it either puts a damper on the conversation or the other person doesn’t really listen because they are taking a different connotation of the meaning of radical. I almost feel as though to claim a radical feminist stance is like a “coming out” process where we have to gauge whether we want to make that statement in certain circumstances or not. At least in my experience that is how I feel.
I consider your final sentence to be powerful, “I am calling for feminists (and myself) to reconsider radical, which is to go to the origin of issues we face as feminists.” I think out of anyone, feminists should have a better understanding of the word so they can use it and explain it to others. I definitely believe that educating others, especially outside of our feminist bubble, is important and making people aware of the ways in which power and privilege operate and why is especially important. But I also think that that type of work will only go so far and only be so effective. Being aware of the issues is important, but coming up with ways to challenge that as a large scale movement is particularly difficult. And this is something feminists of today are going to have to face. Many people know that they want to see changes happen, and are aware that things like patriarchy exist, but they aren’t necessarily willing to go up against that to make real and lasting change.
Nicole & Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed both reading your personal manifesto, and Rachel's response to it.
The realm of radical feminism is something that I feel a constant love/hate relationship with in terms of my feminist standpoint.
Nicole, I agree entirely with your take on the definition of the word and the fact that media representation is often fixated on specific aspects that depict inaccurate images and stereotypes that the mainstream clings onto and in turn becomes a huge part of feminist backlash. For instance, in the many entry level discussions on and about feminism that I have with non women studies majors/individuals entirely unfamiliar with feminist concepts, radical comes to be represented by the hairy, man hating, Amazonian images that so readily available.
I think radical as a framework hones a great deal of power and potential, especially within some of the current shortcomings (in my opinion) that feminism is tackling including but not limited to identity vs. Advocacy, the hierarchy of feminist agendas, which feminism[s] are more powerful/valuable, and the relation if any between western and eastern feminist standpoints. I think that if everyone could abandon their apprehension towards radical for a second and reflect on the concept in terms of a "back to the origin" place, it may bring a lot of clarity to the current situation, and may help all individuals come to terms with the larger picture: what started the movement, and where progress has yet to be made. I don't mean this to take away power from the individual senses of what feminism is, but I don’t know...I've always been a "grass roots" analysis gal myself.
On the other hand of things, I'm stuck with how to make headway or dialogue when as Rachel puts it, no one is really willing to listen because everyone's notion of radical differs so greatly or is convoluted as you say. Just today I stumbled across an amazing piece by Shelia Jeffery on body modification from a radical feminist standpoint (for 53-301 project lol), but the framework I was experiencing after this piece differs so greatly from my rendition/associations of radical, and even from what you have written above. And again I find this like “who’s radical is more radical” battle that seeks to legitimize and have power over another.
So is there really power and potential in the term radical if the term itself is infested with misconception? Or is open to interpretation the way that it is? In a lot of ways radical has some of the same misunderstandings and short comings as the term feminism itself has.
As Rachel expands, it is really important for us as feminists to move outside the bubble and advocate awareness of these systemic issues to a larger audience, however is this really going to be effective (in the radical context) if the masses are afraid/resistant to the idea of radical in the first place? I find this to be limiting and sad. I can advocate and identify as radical until I’m blue in the face, but if the people shut down after the word “radical” leaves my lips and spend their cognitive thought processes on wondering if I’m a man hating lesbian as opposed to listening to my concerns over patriarchy and discourses of power, then really where is the progress?