Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant (2002)

1990-2010, Date, Defining the Enemy, History/Theory, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Theory, Women

“Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant” is the autobiography of radical feminist Andrea Dworkin. Though Dworkin also wrote short stories and novels, she was best known for her non-fiction feminist writings. She covered all topics within radical feminism, with a strong emphasis on being anti-pornography. The bulk of her feminist analysis with through the lens of sexual violence and in the context of the lives of specific well-known individuals.

The Theory of Sexual Politics (1969)

1946-1989, Date, Defining the Enemy, History/Theory, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Theory, Women

Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics discusses the ways in which the patriarchy infiltrates everyday experiences of women, including sexual relations. This chapter – chapter two – is titled the Theory of Sexual Politics. It discusses sexual politics and the subjugation of women ideologically, sociologically, economically, anthropologically, and more.

The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House (1984)

1946-1989, Consciousness Raising, Date, Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Tactics of Disruption, White Supremacy, Women

In 1984, In 1985, feminist, civil rights activist, and librarian Audre Lorde published “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”. The essay argued for the dismantling of the current system, alluding to white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism, and argued that true reform will never be sufficient nor possible if it is under the same “house” which caused the oppression in the first place.

Advocating the mere tolerance of difference between women is the grossest reformism. It is a total denial of the creative function of difference in our lives. Difference must be not merely tolerated, but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic.

Politics of the Ego- A Manifesto for the New York Radical Feminists

Defining the Enemy, Patriarchy, Subjectives of Refusal, Women

Founded in 1969, the New York Radical Feminists were a group that took on the role of organizing women who were being attracted to the newly-popular feminist movement. With the goal of building a “mass-based” movement for radical feminism, the NY Radical Feminists wrote manifestos and organizational tactics such as this to avoid organizational and tactical flaws.