Abstract

This article argues that there is a connection between radical feminist theory and the standard definition of domestic violence. Radical feminism is described through a post-Marxist dialectic in which the gender binary takes the place of the class structure. As such, radical feminism describes a conflict theory in which a struggle between genders displaces the class struggle. The conflict between genders realizes a demolition of the division between the public and private spheres as a unification of the personal-political. The standard definition of domestic violence arises from this dialectical theory. It states that domestic violence is cycle of one person attempting to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. And yet, the radical feminist vision leads to contradictions in which the gender struggle tends toward the erasure of other forms of oppression, most importantly institutional violence, heterosexism and white supremacy. The radical feminist project contains three key problems: 1) a public policy praxis leading to the strengthening of carceral systems, 2) a universalization of womanhood leading to an implicit racism, and 3) a binary dialectic leading to an explicit heterosexism. Based on the critique of radical feminism by intersectional feminism and queer theory, this paper argues that the solution is to reinvigorate the radical spirit that gave rise to the movement against domestic violence in the first place.