I'd be one of those inclined to argue that radical feminism didn't just fail or end, but that feminisms have been evolving from each other for decades. That said, I think that radical feminism stopped being the movement it was in the 60's and 70's because of pornography.

I think it was during the Reagan administration, there was a kind of national dialogue about porn, and radical feminists came down on the same side of the debate ad the conservative Christian right. While the reasons for wanting to restrict or ban pornography were really very different from the Christian right's, the alliance started a conversation within the movement about puritanism and libertarianism and a slew of other -isms. From the way I understand things (which is surely imperfect) that debate was a catalyst for a fundamental shift in the movement that I think you're getting at.

really interesting question. I'm glad people are so interested in theory in these community posts.

I think Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women talks about pretty thoroughly what happened.

I haven't read Backlash, but if it only discusses feminism in the 1980s, it may not really answer the question (since as the OP noted radical feminism was pretty defunct by the mid 70s).

I am not an expert, but I would recommend looking into social movement scholarship on the end of the New Left--it doesn't seem like a coincidence that basically everything else in the U.S. that was politically radical "disintegrated" at the same time. The mid 1970s also saw the fall of the New Left, the Black Panther Party, and other black/third world lib groups. The gay liberation movement (which of course was super radical and politically and culturally closely linked to radical feminism) also collapsed into a similarly reformist agenda by 1973 or 74--feminists were hardly the only ones who were splintering and reforming their politics.

Course there were also those jerks at the FBI. I have no clue if cointelpro targeted feminist groups but it certainly did a good job of killing radical politics in general in that time period.

I highly recommend Daring to be Bad by Ellen Willis for a thorough history of radical feminism.

I agree with Kathryn that the "porn wars" were a turning point for radical feminism. With that, you have to think about and acknowledge the contributions of queer and sex-positive movements towards what evolved. I think the radical feminist groups were often very closed to different perspectives and lifestyles and there was a real backlash for change within feminism because of that. For example, a lot of those groups were totally homophobic and privileged in other ways and unwilling to be allies with those who they saw as ideologically opposed. So actually, depending on how you look at it, you could easily argue that radical women WEREN't willing to own up to privileges and suffered because of it. Just some thoughts..

I think that from what I've researched, and granted that is not near as much as some hear, but I agree with MilbyDaniel. Radical Feminism of the 70s tended to be very closed and focused on feminism only...which is not necessarily a bad thing, but radical feminists tended to put the needs of other oppressed people (people of color,GLBT community, etc) behind the needs of feminism. It did not factor in that the needs of people of color, GLBT community, etc are just as important as feminism. Oppressed is oppressed ignoring one type of oppression in favor of another saying that Radical Feminism was more importan is what I think caused Radical Feminism to fail.

I second the book Daring to be Bad by Ellen Willis. Her theory is that some strands of Radical Feminism easily lapsed into what Willis calls cultural feminism or more reformist based feminism. Feminists were too concerned with living the "correct" way, which focused their criticisms inward, toward their own lifestyles and toward each other, rather than outward toward the system. This may have been one of the reasons Radical Feminism collapsed into reformism. Of course it did not collapse in a vacuum, but in a period moving toward political conservatism, as lolaj pointed out, and moving into the period of backlash Faludi discusses. In any case, Willis's book is a good one to read.

On a side note, while many radical feminists were often closed to different lifestyles and perspectives, I think it is incorrect to say that radical feminism ignored one type of oppression in favor of another. Radical feminism had a particular view of oppression that put the division of labor between the sexes at the center of their analysis. Few radical feminists denied that other types of oppression existed or that other types of oppression were the main concern for many women (rather than oppression based on gender). Radical feminists, rather, attempted to analyze the relationship between racial and class oppression (which were the main discussions happening on the left during that time) and the oppression of women. For example Firestone and Millett, who certainly put race and class oppression and oppression based on sexual orientation into their analysis, but tied it to the historical and contemporary oppression of women. Some feminists certainly overstated their case, although it might be understandable given the opposition early feminist organizers faced in New Left groups (including Black feminists and lesbians).

Unfortunately, most of the independent radical feminist organizations in the 1970s were mainly white and middle class and it is worth discussing why that was the case.

It's actually not true that radical feminism was overall incredibly privileged and ignorant - while it was during the era of the second wave with famously privileged and ignorant people like Betty Friedan, many radical feminists were the ones *without* various forms of privilege and who for this reason were driven to a more radical platform, i.e. lesbians, black feminists, and working-class union women. The Radicalesbians were radical lesbian feminists, for instance - you know, the "Lavendar Menace" protesters?

It's true that radical politics did fall apart in general due to the '80s conservative backlash and as a result has still not recovered - everything is much more toned down and assimilationist as a general rule. I'd like to know where to find the strands of political activism that are radical in nature. The Smith protest against Ryan Sorba that I was a part of was in my mind a great example of a radical direct action.

Correction: Daring to be Bad is written by Alice Echols, not Ellen Willis. Willis only wrote the foreword to the book. Sorry about the mis-attribution.

Hmm, how interesting, I'm a radical feminist from Norway and we were just discussing this the other day.

Is there any other books, or maybe articles any of you could recomend on the subject?

Radical activist feminism is alive and kicking in Norway, and most of scandinavia too. I guess some of the reason for this is that Norway is a small country and being few have forced us to comprimise on some issues to join forces where it really mattered to us.

I believe that a radical forefront is a healthy part of a broad specter of femenisms. When we fight our way uncomprimising ahead, we create a space behind us where more moderate femenisms will stand a better chance at being listened too, seeing as it wasn't them that stirred the dust in the first place. We can afford to be unpopulare so that others wont have to.

We had some workshops on this at WW08 in Madrid.

I would really like to learn more about the fall of radicalism in the US. I think it's a pity, but I guess some of you might have other opinions.

M-