Can Men Be Feminists?

Feminism is broadly understood to be the belief that both sexes should have equality. On those terms there is no reason why a man can't be a feminist.

Not surprising after 40 years of backlash consisting of men and commercial feminists insisting that Feminism, the political movement for the liberation of women, should be about equality for everyone, and businesses using feminism as a marketing tool.
3rd rule of misogyny: Women speaking for themselves are exclusionary and selfish.

We did not get here by accident. The war on women was a cold war during the eighties and nineties and now it has heated up again as it always does.

Both my DF and my late DH had feminist values. My darling dad, a retired GP, supports a charity that repairs birth injuries in Africa. Very typical thing for him to do. My DH helped get my small business off the ground by doing the wifework and by providing endless support and encouragement. I made it happen, but I couldn't have done it without him.

Neither would describe themselves as feminists. They'd laugh like drains at the idea. My DH would immediately have spotted the sort of men who claim to be feminists to virtue signal and chat up women. He'd have ripped the piss out of them.

@BertandRussell, You never came across as one ,

No. Nor should we want to. Not welcome, not required. Plus the football season is about to start again - there's other stuff that requires our attention.

Sorry- I didn't mean to sound like a smart arse. Just wanted to agree with you!

@BertandRussell, Sorry missed that post, Wish I could've put my points across as eloquently as you

I refer the Honourable Member to my post of 8.50am.

No men can't be feminists but they can help change things for the better, we all have Mothers and female family. Firstly we have to think is this how I would want my family and friends to be treated? Is my/your behavior or attitude making any woman feel threatened or uncomfortable. challenge misogyny/sexism when you see it . Just small steps the average guy can take to help our female family and friends to make things change for the better.

I think the males on this thread have made very 'informative' contributions.

I think it's a really interesting question. I've been thinking about it for years and I'm increasingly of the view that men probably could be feminists if they wanted to be, but they're unwilling to do the homework. Also they weren't listening when the homework was set, don't know where to look it up, won't ask a friend and can't even be arsed to copy someone else's.

I've also very recently come to the conclusion that men can't say anything useful on the question of whether men can be feminists.

I think as women we ALL grow up under the patriarchy- we cannot go through life untouched by it and that means we inevitably absorb its messages. We often internalise the hatred of women and so we DO make unfeminist (made up word there) choices.

My guilty pleasure is the Real Housewives series...I watch it even though I KNOW the messages it gives out about women are just terrible!

But men CANNOT be feminists. They are part of the oppressing group. They can never get away from that.

I must admit, they've got the handing over of the baton down to a tee on this thread!!

PP -> Claire -> Sawdust -> ??

you don't belong in this group - you are a straight white male

Oh shit, if only there were other people in a similar predicament he could hang around with....

What's meaningless?

kinda meaningless then

"A lot of women watch porn. Does that mean they can't be feminists?"

No-although it might mean that. It might also mean that they are feminists who have not thought this issue through. Or it might mean that they are feminists who have decided on this occasion to make a non feminist choice.

It's a paradox that the men who are the best friends to women aren't going to call themselves "feminists". Maybe they'd recognise it as a label that they'd get criticised for failing to live up to, the first time they fall short of perfection!

A lot of women watch porn. Does that mean they can't be feminists?

Not just school settings. Pubs too. This exclusionary feminism has just gone too far. The only solution is to get men to run it.

the whole pack mantra " you don't belong in this group - you are a straight white male" chanted more or less in unison, more or less every time he tried to join in, that's what drove him out

This happens in every pub I go to. It's shocking, I tell you, shocking. A bloke can't even get a pint and dominate the conversation any more. Why do they even let women in pubs unchaperoned anyway? Clearly they're unable to respect the privilege.

he’s definitely not your typical right-on virtue signaller

I have a friend who's a football, beer, buzz cut hair, stupid joke idiot. He was round a few weekends ago, I was talking about a feminist issue to DH, bloke said something, can't remember what but it was a bit, 'whatever'. I pointed out to him that on the night we met, I was being persistently sexually harassed in the pub. He came over, said, "if they're being arseholes, we have a table, come sit down". He is one of two men who has come to my aid in 30 years of being sexually harassed by men publicly. That's an ally. He would NEVER call himself a feminist. And he isn't. But he walks the walk, even when it could get him punched.

placemarking

although I believe the answer to be broadly "no"

enjoyed the manly pronouncements textbook examples of the genre upthread.

Sorry, just to clarify: in a school setting, with teachers present, during a group aimed at getting disadvantaged kids into education, a boy who’d been/was currently in care was bullied out by the other kids chanting in unison “you don’t belong in this group, you’re a straight white male”? And the teachers present did nothing?

Was everyone else in the group a girl?

That service provider failed in their duty to provide for a looked after child and should be thoroughly investigated for that failing.