Radical Feminism Summary

Radical Feminism Summary

  • Submitted By: CarinC4
  • Date Submitted: 11/04/2013 6:39 AM
  • Category: Book Reports
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TITLE:
A CRITICAL REVIEW OF “RADICAL FEMINISM: LIBERTARIAN AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES” AND “WOMANISM AND BLACK FEMINISM”

WOMANISM AND BLACK FEMINISM
Introduced by Alice Walker in her book “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, the term “womanism” was initially taken from a black Southern expression. Used to describe black female children who behaved serious, responsible and too grown-up for their good, their mothers would tell them that they were “acting womanish”. This was in deep contrast from being “girlish” where a female was expected to be irresponsible and playful, which was characterized as the nature of white females.
Walker’s had several different meanings for “womanism” which highlight reasons why an abundant amount of African American preferred to align themselves with womanism instead of black feminism. In terms of Black Nationalism, black women accepted “womanism” if they felt that blacks and whites could not cohesively and equally function within the same space therefore whites could never understand their plights. In terms of Pluralism, black women felt that maintaining black individuality and honor would bring about an improved version of racial integration in a group setting.
Some black women however accepted the term “black feminism” through their approval that “feminism” promoted the belief that women were full human beings who were proficient enough to take on leadership roles and responsibilities. Four major areas that the feminist agenda focused on were the economic status of women, their political rights, their marital and family issues on a global scale and issues concerning their health in terms of sexually transmitted diseases and reproduction situations.

RADICAL FEMINISM: LIBERTARIAN AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
Hailed as “radical feminists”, this group was comprised of women who had a desire to improve women’s conditions and participated in radical social movements like the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War...

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