Radical Feminism, TERFs, and Why Intersectionality Matters

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Many people are still confused and often equate radical feminism with TERFs, even though the two are not the same thing.

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Radical feminism is essentially a strand of feminism that seeks to address the root causes of women’s oppression. The word "radical" itself means "root" not "extreme". The main focus is patriarchy: a social system that regulates power, bodies, and gender roles in ways that are detrimental to women and other gender groups. Since its inception, radical feminism has criticised sexual violence, objectification of the body, and rigid gender rules. Many radical feminists are also queer, lesbian, or gender-nonconforming, so historically, this movement is not automatically anti-trans.

The problem arose when some people who claimed to be radical feminists began to develop views that excluded trans women. This is where the term TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) came from.

TERFs use the language and concepts of radical feminism, but they use them to deny the identities and rights of trans women. It’s important to understand that TERFs are a specific group and not representative of all radical feminism. Many radical feminists actually oppose TERF ideology and see it as a deviation from the goals of feminism itself.

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One of the main reasons why TERF ideology is criticised is because it contradicts the principles of intersectional feminism.

Intersectionality reminds us that oppression doesn’t work in a single line. Gender cannot be separated from race, social class, disability, sexuality, and trans identity. A woman’s life experience will not be the same depending on her background.

Feminism that only defends one type of woman: usually cis women, white women, and those who are relatively privileged, will always leave others behind.

Feminism without intersectionality ultimately becomes narrow and unjust. If a movement claims to fight for women’s freedom but refuses to acknowledge the experiences of trans women, then that movement fails to understand how patriarchy works. Controlling who is "allowed" to be called a woman, or who deserves protection, merely repeats the patterns of patriarchy itself: controlling other people’s bodies, identities, and lives.

Feminism should move towards solidarity and not exclusion. The goal is to dismantle systems that harm many people, not to narrow the circle of those who deserve empathy and protection. That’s why many feminists today insist that feminism must be intersectional or it loses its meaning. The struggle for gender equality cannot be separated from the struggle against racism, transphobia, poverty, and other forms of injustice.

In the end, it’s important to emphasise that radical feminism is not TERF and feminism that rejects intersectionality is not complete feminism. Determining who is “counted” as a woman just repeats patriarchal logic instead of breaking it and you don’t fight oppression by copying the rules. Real feminism is about collective liberation and that includes trans women, because a movement built on exclusion can never be truly free.