Radical Feminists, the Long ‘Sex Wars’ and the Anti‐Gender Movement: The Career of Janice Raymond

ABSTRACT This article uses the long career of Janice Raymond to trace a genealogy of radical feminism. Best known for her 1979 anti‐trans book, The Transsexual Empire , Raymond was also central to anti‐pornography, anti‐surrogacy and anti‐sex work campaigns. In the 1980s, when she and her allies lost the ‘sex wars’ in the United States feminist movement, they moved to the international arena, where they had significant success, especially in the United Nations. Raymond's career highlights the broader ambit of radical feminism, its ideological infrastructure and its longstanding associations with conservative anti‐gender movements.

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Publication Details

Journal
Gender & History
Published
2026-01-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.70016
Primary Topic
LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Radical Feminists, the Long ‘Sex Wars’ and the Anti‐Gender Movement: The Career of Janice Raymond

Joanne Meyerowitz
Gender & History
LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
article

Radical Feminists, the Long ‘Sex Wars’ and the Anti‐Gender Movement: The Career of Janice Raymond

Joanne Meyerowitz
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article uses the long career of Janice Raymond to trace a genealogy of radical feminism. Best known for her 1979 anti‐trans book, The Transsexual Empire , Raymond was also central to anti‐pornography, anti‐surrogacy and anti‐sex work campaigns. In the 1980s, when she and her allies lost the ‘sex wars’ in the United States feminist movement, they moved to the international arena, where they had significant success, especially in the United Nations. Raymond's career highlights the broader ambit of radical feminism, its ideological infrastructure and its longstanding associations with conservative anti‐gender movements.

Gender & History
Yale University (US)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 97%
LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
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