Editing Radical feminism (section)

=== Ideology emerges and diverges ===
At the beginning of this period, "[[heterosexuality]] was more or less an unchallenged assumption". Among radical feminists, it was widely held that, thus far, the sexual freedoms gained in the [[sexual revolution]] of the 1960s, in particular, the decreasing emphasis on [[monogamy]], had been largely gained by men at women's expense.{{sfn|Willis|1984|p=121}} This assumption of heterosexuality would soon be challenged by the rise of [[political lesbianism]], closely associated with Atkinson and The Feminists.{{sfn|Willis|1984|p=131}}

Redstockings and The Feminists were both radical feminist organizations, but held rather distinct views. Most members of Redstockings held to a [[materialism|materialist]] and anti-[[psychologism|psychologistic]] view. They viewed men's oppression of women as ongoing and deliberate, holding individual men responsible for this oppression, viewing institutions and systems (including the family) as mere vehicles of conscious male intent, and rejecting psychologistic explanations of female submissiveness as blaming women for collaboration in their own oppression. They held to a view—which Willis would later describe as "neo-[[Maoism|Maoist]]"—that it would be possible to unite all or virtually all women, as a class, to confront this oppression by personally confronting men.{{sfn|Willis|1984|pp=124—128}}

[[File:Ellen willis.png|thumb|[[Ellen Willis]]]]

The Feminists held a more [[idealism|idealistic]], psychologistic, and [[utopianism|utopian]] philosophy, with a greater emphasis on "[[sex role]]s", seeing [[sexism]] as rooted in "complementary patterns of male and female behavior". They placed more emphasis on institutions, seeing marriage, family, prostitution, and heterosexuality as all existing to perpetuate the "sex-role system". They saw all of these as institutions to be destroyed. Within the group, there were further disagreements, such as Koedt's viewing the institution of "normal" sexual intercourse as being focused mainly on male sexual or erotic pleasure, while Atkinson viewed it mainly in terms of reproduction. In contrast to the Redstockings, The Feminists generally considered genitally focused sexuality to be inherently male. [[Ellen Willis]], the Redstockings co-founder, would later write that insofar as the Redstockings considered abandoning heterosexual activity, they saw it as a "bitter price" they "might have to pay for [their] militance", whereas The Feminists embraced [[separatist feminism]] as a strategy.{{sfn|Willis|1984|pp=130–132}}

The New York Radical Feminists (NYRF) took a more psychologistic (and even [[biological determinism|biologically determinist]]) line. They argued that men dominated women not so much for material benefits as for the ego satisfaction intrinsic in domination. Similarly, they rejected the Redstockings view that women submitted only out of necessity or The Feminists' implicit view that they submitted out of cowardice, but instead argued that [[social conditioning]] simply led most women to accept a submissive role as "right and natural".{{sfn|Willis|1984|p=105}}

[[Rosemarie Tong]] proposes the terms ''radical-libertarian feminism'' and ''radical-cultural feminism'' to address the fundamental split within radical feminism over how to dismantle patriarchal oppression.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tong |first=Rosemarie |title=Feminist thought: a more comprehensive introduction |date=2009 |publisher=Westview |isbn=978-0-8133-4375-4 |edition=3rd |location=Boulder, Colo |chapter=Radical Feminism: Libertarian and Cultural Perspectives}}</ref> Radical-libertarian feminists, such as Kate Millett and Shulamith Firestone, advocate for the abolition of rigid gender roles and the embrace of androgyny, arguing that women should be free to adopt both masculine and feminine traits to achieve full human potential.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tong |first=Rosemarie |title=Feminist thought: a more comprehensive introduction |date=2009 |publisher=Westview |isbn=978-0-8133-4375-4 |edition=3rd |location=Boulder, Colo |chapter=Radical Feminism: Libertarian and Cultural Perspectives}}</ref> They emphasize sexual liberation, including diverse sexual practices, and support artificial reproduction as a means to free women from the biological burdens of childbirth. In contrast, radical-cultural feminists, like Mary Daly and Marilyn French, celebrate femaleness and the unique virtues traditionally associated with femininity, such as nurturing and community.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tong |first=Rosemarie |title=Feminist thought: a more comprehensive introduction |date=2009 |publisher=Westview |isbn=978-0-8133-4375-4 |edition=3rd |location=Boulder, Colo |chapter=Radical Feminism: Libertarian and Cultural Perspectives}}</ref> They critique androgyny as a rejection of women's inherent strengths and promote lesbianism as a more liberating alternative to heterosexuality. Radical-cultural feminists also see natural reproduction as a source of women's power and oppose artificial reproduction, which they believe could further entrench male dominance.