What is Feminism?

What is Feminism? Feminism is establishing and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal rights and opportunities as men. There are three main types of feminism: Radical Feminism, Liberal Feminism and Socialist Feminism. Radical feminism promotes the basis for many of the ideas of feminism. Radical feminists believe that society must be changed at its core in order to dissolve patriarchy. Radical feminists emphasize their difference from men. They form groups that exclude males completely. This type of feminist highlights the importance of individual feelings, experiences and relationships. Liberal feminism sees that all people are created equal by God and deserve equal rights. Liberal feminists believe that women have the same mental capacity as their male and should be given the same opportunities in political, economic and social spheres. Socialist feminism can also be termed Marxist feminism or materialist feminism. Socialist feminists view gender inequalities as intrinsic to the capitalist system, which makes vast profits off women's unpaid labor in the home and underpaid labor in the workforce. Socialist feminists seek to eliminate the capitalist system and replace it with socialism. All these types of feminists believe that all people are created equal, but throughout history men have had greater power in both the public and private spheres. To maintain this power, men have created boundaries and obstacles for women, thus making it harder for women to hold power.
Radical Feminism, this is the form of feminism most people think of when they think of feminism. Radical feminism believes that gender is a social construct. Radical feminists target male psychology or biology as the source of women's oppression. The most extreme form of radical feminism is separatism, which advocates a total break with men. The magazine off our backs and the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival are long-established