Abstract
Thistheoretical article analyzes the development, in the feminist field of the early 1970s, of a radical feminist current, seeking to understand the tensions and contradictions that explain the emergence of a “new radical feminism” which is deemed transphobic. Seeking to characterize and contextualize both radical feminism (early 1970s) and the new radical feminism (late 1970s), this study is guided by a dialectical analysis aimed at identifying the various tensions and contradictions that explain, in each particular context, the feminist “movement”. Starting from a content analysis of texts associated with radical feminism and new radical feminism, the article explores common assumptions and internal divergences, taking into account the questions, controversies, and criticisms that have affected the feminist field throughout its history. The analysis reveals that new radical feminism’s construction of a “new” radicalism, which targets trans identities in the fight against patriarchy, is related to the growing influence of a particularly excluding identity paradigm and a biologizing and essentialist view of women’s oppression.
Keywords
Radical feminism; new radical feminism; transphobia