[1] As it continued to gain popularity, radical lesbianism spread throughout Canada, the United States, and France.
In addition to being associated with social movements, radical lesbianism also offers its own ideology, similar to how feminism functions in both capacities.
They offer an attempt by some feminists and lesbians to try to reconcile what they see as inherent conflicts with the stated goals of feminism.
Many of these conflicts and ruptures are a result of issues arising from broader and nationally specifically cultural narratives around women.
In a way similar to the American and Canadian movements, these radical, French lesbians sought to carve out space for themselves within feminism and within politics as a whole.
[6] The Front des Lesbiennes Radicales [fr] were inspired by the words and writings of French philosopher Monique Wittig,[7] and their philosophic inquiries began through a Paris-based group including Wittig and Simone de Beauvoir who published the journal Questions féministes.
"[9] Latin American radical lesbianism developed during the 1970s, and like other parts of the movement, resulted from specific national conditions.
Radical lesbianism began to develop in Mexico in 1977, led by the group Mujeres guerreras que abren caminos y esparcen flores (Oikabeth).
Consequently, the communities in Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Brazil began working more closely together on shared goals.
Radical lesbianism specifically sought to challenge male domination and male-centered definitions of gender and sexuality.
[11][12] The group repurposed the phrase "lavender menace," painting it on t-shirts in preparation for a protest at the Second Congress to Unite Women in May 1970.
[7][16] In her preface to Monique Wittig's The Straight Mind and Other Essays, Quebec radical lesbian Louise Turcotte explains her views that "Radical lesbians have reached a basic consensus that views heterosexuality as a political regime which must be overthrown.