Radical Feminist Activists

"The task of an activist is not to navigate systems of oppressive power with as much personal integrity as possible; it is to dismantle those systems.” ~ Lierre Keith, co-author of the book Deep Green Resistance

“Many women may share feminist ideas but it is only by taking action that we build a movement...” ~ Lynn Alderson

For a short tutorial on sex and gender from a RadFem perspective, read:
Sex and Gender: A Beginner's Guide: https://sexandgenderintro.com/gender/
For another more academically oriented:
BASIC CONCEPTS : SEX AND GENDER, MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY, PATRIARCHY:
https://www.academia.edu/8331160/BASIC_CONCEPTS_SEX_AND_GENDER_MASCULINITY_AND_FEMININITY_PATRIARCHY_Unit_Structure

If you have an interest in films by or about women, please join our sister Meetup group Cinema Femina: https://4142298.xyz/Cinema-Femina/

If you share an interest in feminist literature you may ask to join The Feminist Book Club: https://4142298.xyz/FeministReaders/
("Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books." ~ bell hooks)

For a deeper dive into the works of women, much of it political, please have a look at Reading Women's Work: https://4142298.xyz/reading-womens-work/

If you share concerns about Human Trafficking, the plight of prostituted people, labor exploitation, domestic servitude, servile marriage, and related issues... please visit our sister Meetup group Fight Slavery Now!: https://4142298.xyz/Fight-Slavery-Now/

To delve further into the many facets of Human Trafficking please visit their website: http://fightslaverynow.org/

Radical Feminist Activists Meetup Group (RadFem) was founded in 2011, had hosted hundreds of Meetups and garnered over 500 supporters before a previous organizer shut it down on New Year's Day 2016. That organizer began a new less inclusive group with a similar name and we wish them only the best. But lost in the process were all records, files, studies, reports, photos, discussions, e-lists, event history... the entire institutional memory of this group representing the collective product of many feminists over a period of years.

Those resources were created for the benefit of, and were open to, the entire Feminist community, members and non-members alike. It will take some time, but we have been rebuilding both the site and the collective inclusive spirit of the group. Silence is not an option. We have been able to restore or replicate some of this information. Since 2016 we've hosted/posted over 500 Meetups and membership has risen to over a 1500 good people interested in confronting misogyny and advancing a radical feminist agenda at home and globally, across lines of race, class, gender and ethnicity.

Please be a feminist or open to feminism if you join. There are plenty of other groups to join if you are neither. Beyond that, we welcome feminists of all stripes, colors, creeds, and gender identities who are committed to challenging, confronting, and ultimately dismantling Patriarchy. Together we hope to forge a path to sexual equality and gender justice for all, not just by talking among ourselves, but by speaking out, writing, marching, demonstrating, protesting and actively projecting a loud and fierce voice in opposition to Rape Culture and the War on Women.

Radical Feminism is not a monolithic ideology, but it does hold to some basic tenets that set it apart from what has become known as 'liberal feminism'.  Notably it views patriarchy as the first and foremost form of oppression, serving as a template for racial and class hierarchies. It regards prostitution as the "world's oldest oppression". It recognizes that mammalian sex is essentially binary and non-fungible. It regards gender as a restrictive social construct and seeks its elimination. It does not seek equality for women on masculine terms, but rather seeks freedom for women and men from the social construct of gender norms.

For a deeper look: DGR RadFem
For a discussion of the distinction between radical vs. liberal analysis check out this video w/Lierre Keith.
For a better understanding of Patriarchy: A Brief History of Patriarchy by Dr. Gerda Lerner

This is a member-led and self-directed group. Please share not only events of interest, but ideas for actions we can take individually or collectively. Post to the message board, upload links through the comments, or suggest a Meetup. Courtesy and respect are expected and extended. Your private contact information is always protected by Meetup and shared with no one, not even the organizers.

This group subscribes and adheres to the elements of Security Culture as enumerated by Deep Green Resistance here: SECURITY CULTURE. Please do not use this site for any commercial purposes, but feel free to initiate discussions and post events of interest.

Male supremacy must end. Oppression and violence are not natural or inevitable. Neither is patriarchy or any collection of interlocking/intersecting systems of oppression. Radical Feminism, in the truest sense of the word 'Radical', is about going to the root of the systems of oppression that we all participate in and perpetuate, creating change from the ground up and making the world a better, more equitable, non-oppressive place.

We believe change is possible and above all necessary. Radical Feminist Activists is a place for Radical Feminists to gather, consciousness raise, get creative, share stories, and engage in activism in New York City and beyond. Please join us in this struggle.
Issues we care about (neither exhaustive nor in any hierarchy):

- Reproductive rights and women's healthcare
- Domestic violence
- Rape and sexual abuse
- Human trafficking
- Childhood sexual abuse (CSA)
- Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
- 'Honor' Violence (so-called)
- History of feminist theory and what sets Radical Feminism apart
- The wage gap and the glass ceiling 
- Period poverty: ending the "Tampon tax"
- Sexual harassment and stalking 
- Heteronormativity, homophobia, transphobia 
- Violence against sex/gender nonconforming people
- Consciousness Raising as a tool for liberation 
- Femicide  
- Pornography 
- Prostituted women 
- Sex/gender roles and stereotypes 
- Sexism in media and advertising 
- Global solidarity for women's rights
- Surrogacy and reproductive exploitation 
- Intersection w/ race and class oppression 
- Racism 
- Islamophobia and antiSemitism 
- Mass incarceration and the prison-industrial complex 
- Migration and Immigrant rights
- Women artists, writers, actors, filmmakers, dancers, musicians, scientists, explorers, politicians, teachers, innovators, activists, etc... both contemporary and historical

Join us to plan activist events and projects; get together to discuss feminism, current events, and anything else of interest; plan creative projects like advertising campaigns, videos, stories, spoken word and poetry; and start activist actions on issues that matter to us all!

This movement needs all the help and all the talent it can muster. We need speakers and writers, doers and dreamers. We need wit and reason, passion and caring. People wise in the ways of politics. People with business savvy. People with organizing skills. We need artists and singers, poets and preachers. We need everyone who cares, all the men, women, and children who are willing to work for freedom from gender oppression. We need YOU!

Peace, Justice and Freedom...