Radical feminism often carries a contentious reputation in transgender discussions, largely because of the “TERF” label. Yet this shorthand obscures what the tradition actually argues. Its starting point is not hostility toward trans people but a material analysis of sex-based oppression—and on that analysis, transmen are included. The central claim is straightforward: societies organise themselves around the female body in ways that produce distinct forms of vulnerability, regardless of how one identifies.

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At its core, the tradition is not anti-man, nor does it oppose masculinity as a mode of expression. The critique is directed at the system that links masculinity with dominance and femininity with subordination. Radical feminists reject gender stereotypes that constrain both sexes and recognise the longstanding history of female masculinity—something many transmen have lived. While passing as male can shift how others perceive us, it does not erase the material realities of having a female body. Those realities shape risk, access to resources, and exposure to male violence. They also help explain how gender dysphoria develops and why it persists. In this sense, transmen’s experiences are not external to the framework of female oppression but deeply woven into it.

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From this perspective, sex inequality is understood as systemic rather than incidental. The institutions that structure family life, economic arrangements, sexuality, and labour all bear the imprint of male dominance. As a result, the goal is not simply to secure equal opportunity within existing systems but to transform the systems themselves. The term “radical” refers to this focus on root causes, not to extremism.

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Key areas of focus include:

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• bodily autonomy

• gender-based violence

• sexual assault

• marriage and family structures

• prostitution and pornography

• economic inequality

• sex-based stereotypes and social conditioning​

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Across these areas, empirical research consistently shows that transmen continue to experience patterns of disadvantage associated with female socialization and embodiment: higher rates of poverty, sexual and intimate-partner violence, homelessness, and engagement in survival sex. These patterns are not incidental. They reflect how female bodies are positioned within a gendered social order.

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A sex-based analysis, therefore, provides essential clarity. It helps explain why specific harms continue to track our bodies even when our gender presentation changes. Integrating radical feminist insights strengthens trans-inclusive feminism by grounding it in the material realities that shape both risk and resilience.

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Key Concepts

 

Patriarchy - Radical feminism argues that women’s oppression is structural, not merely interpersonal. Institutions such as the family, the labour market, and cultural norms consistently prioritize male interests and heterosexuality. The goal is not to invert this hierarchy but to dismantle it. As Germaine Greer observed, “The opposite of patriarchy is not matriarchy but fraternity.” In other words: cooperation. 

 

Gender - From a feminist perspective, gender is a system of norms prescribing how women and men should behave, appear, and relate. These norms stabilize a patriarchal order by making unequal roles seem natural. Gender is not an inner essence but a social expectation imposed on individuals.

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Consciousness-Raising - Emerging in the late 1960s, consciousness-raising brought women together to compare experiences and identify shared patterns—violence, harassment, economic dependence, and pressures to conform to femininity. The aim was political: to reveal the structural nature of what had been treated as personal problems.