Title: How men can support women and Feminism | Scarleteen
Headings: How men can support women and Feminism
How men can support women and Feminism
Content: How men can support women and Feminism | Scarleteen
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How men can support women and Feminism
How men can support women and Feminism
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Recently, I've been talking about men and feminism a fair bit, and not just in what I write, but in other places online and in real life. This is pretty normal for me, but what's a bit interesting is that a lot of these conversations have been around the relationship of men to feminism and in particular, what role men can play in supporting feminism and women in general. A lot of this discussion has been about names; and in particular what you call a male identified person who supports and actively promotes feminism. ' Feminist' is the obvious answer, but this can be problematic because the word is SO strongly associated with women, and some feel that there personal, experiential aspects of feminism, along with male privilege (the numerous benefits and opportunities that biological men often enjoy solely on the basis of their sex - better average wages, less harassment, etc) think that is important for the term 'Feminist' to remain exclusive to female identifying people. Other people think that males SHOULD label themselves feminists, to better challenge the notion feminism is a concern only of women, and actively engage men in struggles for gender rights and equality. Just like UK comedian Bill Bailey is doing here. Some other terms that are used to describe men who identify with feminism are 'Allies,' a term which is used by people in many contexts (not just men) who advocate and support struggles around a particular issue, for example rights for sex workers, but, for whatever reason, do not identify with that community themselves. ' Male feminist' and 'pro-feminist' are also used, which include the term feminist, along with a caveat that creates a distinction with female feminists. This stuff with names and terms can seem kind of beside the point, but it all means quite a bit when it comes to how we think about gender, feminism, etc and this theory naturally informs personal politics and action in these areas.