2. Radical Feminism.
a. There is no real evidence that women constitute a "sex class", since it is clear that,
apart from a common biology, women may have no real shared interests "as a class
apart from men". It is difficult to see, for example, what "common interests" are shared
by upper class and working class women - aside from the fact that they are women. The
experiences and life chances of upper class females are significantly different to those
of working class females (where the position of the former may be closer to that of men
than to their working class counterparts)
b. The primary importance attached to patriarchy downgrades the importance of
concepts like social class and ethnicity. For Marxist Feminists, patriarchy itself stems
from the way in which women are generally exploited economically.
c. To view women as a "sex class" whose basic interest involves emancipation from
men would leave unresolved the problem of economic exploitation.
d. Radical Feminism tends to overlook the fact that the general position of women in
society has changed over time and this can only be explained in terms of wider
economic and political changes in society.
e. Socialist Feminists do not see women as a "sex class", nor do they see all men as
"the class enemy". Not all male / female relationships are characterised by oppression
and exploitation, for example. Technological "solutions" to female exploitation are also
viewed with suspicion (since control over development and exploitation of technology
has traditional been a male preserve), as is the idea that a matriarchal society is
somehow superior and preferable to a patriarchal society.ã www.sociology.org.uk 2005
f. Radical Feminists over-emphasise factors that separate women from men (their
biology in particular - over-stating the significance of biological differences - and also
unsubstantiated / uncritical assumptions about male and female psychology).