Can a man be a feminist?

I have a question.

My husband brought up a good point while having a discussion about feminism. I wasn't sure how to answer the question appropriately. The question was and I am paraphrasing. If feminism is about equal rights then why do men not have equal say? I tried to explain that yes, feminism IS about equal rights for both sexes. But, mostly for women because of women's issues. I am just having a hard time giving a satisfying answer. Can anybody help?

How Zen of you, andiewithanie.

I think if you're dude, relinquishing the title of feminist is a pretty big step towards really understanding what feminism is about

Any discussion of "can a man be a feminist" just gets into discussions about what is feminism?, which will probably never be resolved, because there are no leaders who get to dictate who in in the club and who is not.

What if we asked:

Can a man choose to behave in a way that is helpful to the goals of feminism?

I say yes.

I personally think that feminism is a set of beliefs.

Therefore anyone with a brain can be feminist.

Others think differently.

Op in order to answer such a question can you define what ot means to be a feminist?

Well, as a man, I would say that a man has a natural disadvantage. But then what about vegetarians? Can any human be a vegetarian considering that we are genetically predisposed to be omnivores? Of course! Our carnivorous side makes it hard to conform to vegetarian ideology, but the ideology can be held by anyone. So it is with femenism. Men may find it harder to practice feminism, but can still be feminists. I would also suggest that there are women who say they are feminists, but also do not always hold true to the principles of equality of the sexes in all things, and who may even act in a way which undermines other women (I'm thinking celebrity femenists who use their feminine sexuality to achieve success, without considering the negative impact a sexualised society has on other women).

A man can be a feminist if he was previously perceived to be female, i.e. if he is a transman. If someone with TAIS is considered male, that person can also be feminist. However, not only can a man not be a feminist, but nor can a transwoman, because it's about historical lived experience and socialisation into the social gender role, not the current lived experience. Therefore I would describe myself as pro-feminist but not as feminist.

I'm just me. I don't position myself anywhere along the feminist scale. I would say that a man can't really be a feminist because he can't truly understand the lived experience of women, he can empathise, but not partake, if that makes sense. Men can be, and many of them are, powerful feminist allies though. DH being one.

There are many forms of feminism with differing theorys and ideals so i guess it would depend on what type of feminist you asked.

i would imagine a radical separatist feminist would say that no, a man cannot be a feminist!

i would class myself as a liberal feminist and would say that yes, if a man is championing for equal rights, then yes he could be a feminist.

i haven't put that very intelligently, but basically what i mean is that it all depends on who your asking and why the man in question classes himself as a feminist!

i think you'd struggle to find a consensus among feminists about this tbh. some assert that men can be feminist allies but not feminists, others would say absolutely a man can be a feminist

as with all things it's much more about action than words, and a man behaving in a feminist way (calling out other men on their sexist behaviour, working towards ending male violence, trying to avoid using his privilege to oppress women, setting a good example of equality to their children, shutting up and listening to women's lived experiences and generally behaving like they are human beings of equal importance, and more) is very unlikely to be rejected by feminists

there is however a lot of legitimate wariness around some men who are vocally and vociferously calling themselves feminists as it can be used as yet another tool for silencing or even abusing women. there is naturally a strong ethos among feminists that the movement should be women-led, and male socialisation can mean a tendency for some of those men who have "seen the light" to bulldoze over women's discussion and action, trying to assert their opinion over and above that of women, getting frustrated when they aren't listened to or taken notice of in the same way as they are used to in everyday life, complaining when they are excluded from women-only spaces - these men haven't really "got" feminism

so i think what i'm trying to say is that men can definitely behave in a feminist way and if they want to call themselves a feminist on that basis i personally don't have an objection to that. but i would also expect those men to understand why other feminists will have an objection to that. because it's not about them and what they want

specifically on the t-shirts while i have no problem with the idea in principle i'm a bit wary that it becomes just a PR exercise whereby men (and women presumably) get kudos for wearing a t-shirt but make no actual steps in terms of working towards women's liberation