Feminism: radical feminism

Gender differences in society regarded for the first time as important in themselves -needing to be understood in their own terms During the 1960s and 1970s, the feminist movement sought to uncover -the influence of patriarchy not only in politics, public life and the economy, but in all aspects of social, personal and sexual existence Figes's Patriarchal Attitudes -drew attention not to the more familiar legal or social disadvantages suffered by women, but to the fact that patriarchal values and beliefs pervade the culture, philosophy, morality and religion of society Greer suggested that women are conditioned to -a passive sexual role, which has repressed their true sexuality as well as the more active and adventurous side of their personalities Millett described patriarchy as -a 'social construct' running through all political, social and economic structures and found in every historical and contemporary society, as well as in all major religions The different roles of women and men have their origin in a process of 'conditioning': -from a very early age boys and girls are encouraged to conform to very specific gender identities Millett proposed that patriarchy should be challenged through a process of -'consciousness- raising', an idea influenced by the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s Consciousness-raising -strategies to remodel social identity and challenge cultural inferiority by an emphasis on pride, self-worth and self-assertion