To dislike "Radical Feminism"

[InternetPerson]

I've got nothing against feminists that fight for womens rights and genuinely want the best the best for everyone and don't hate anyone, but "RadFems" tend to be full of bitterness and hatred. And I'm not just talking about kids, these are high profile, intelligent women with power and influence. Do you think it's unreasonable to dislike something where most people think men are inherantly evil and to be feared? Or do you think their hatred is fair and we should respect them for their good work in trying to make humans hate eath other even more?

Like, I said, I have nothing against Feminism, it's done a lot of great work down the years and still does, but "Rad Fem" and "Feminism" are too completly different things in my opinion. Is this a wrong conclusion?

AIBU?

"I have spent 20 years writing these books. Had I wanted to say men are beasts and scream, that takes 30 seconds"

Was what Dworkin said when people called her radical, brilliant, incisive and cutting edge writing "man hating".

Most radical writing is, by nature, challenging. That is the point of it. It is, as has been said upthread, Overton Window shifting.

That's why critics often misrepresent it, strawman it and make it out to be lacking in nuance, sophistication and intellect.

Flora too & so many others here make such eloquent convincing points-wish I knew you in real life, so bloody refreshing...:0)

Do radical feminists believe that men and women are innately the exact same, but are socialized differently (which results in differences between the sexes)?

Or, do many believe that small innate differences are magnified by our culture?

I am somewhat uneducated on feminist theory and want to understand the difference between radical feminism and other forms of feminism.

Thanks russet

Radical feminists believe that men and women are the exact same mentally, or would be if it wasn't for socialisation. Differences in brain scans between the sexes can be explained entirely by socialisation and experience e.g. black cab drivers (who have to learn every street in London and know the fastest routes between places in order to become a black cab driver) have more grey matter in the hippocampus after they have learned all of this information than before.

Most of the radical feminists I know think that whether women or men are the same or not is a moot point.

What matters is that society is set up to exploit and control girls and women. And that must stop because it is wrong.

Girls and women are exploited and controlled via the means of male violence. And that must stop because it is wrong.

Perhaps female and male humans are fundamentally similar or the same. Perhaps not. We don't know. What we do know is that false differences have been constructed in order to justify the subjugation of females. And real differences (reproductive ones) are used to define females as inferior and as male owned property.

Females are defined by males and they have defined us as inferior and made this out to the natural order.

The essence of patriarchy is not that women and men are different but that they are universally existing in a man made (literally) hierarchy. For that hierarchy to exist, differences must be found, and if they cannot be found they must be invented.

Queen & Beachcomber...Brilliant ;0)

YANBU
I do not want to be associated with Andrea Dworkin or Julie Bindel. Many of the most prominent writers / speakers for Radical Feminism are extremists in my view and they do more harm than good.

What exactly is wrong with Andrea Dworkin?