Men... Feminist or supporter?

[ComicKittta]

So recently i had a debate with my sociology lecturer.

i asked her ... can men be feminists? she said no.

I found this puzzling... so i asked why. And her statement was that they dont have the female experience.

but isnt feminism about gender equality?

she said a man can be a supporter but not a feminist. I am quite puzzled by this... because for me this is labeling and creating an exclusivity that boggles me. Arnt they both the same?

For me, men should be allowed to be feminist. Not every man is patriarchal. And to have equality we must give equality.

Thoughts anyone?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/2364958-Men-cant-be-feminists

Lots of discussion here

Supporter only. Don't intrude where you haven't been invited.

I liken it to white South Africans under apartheid.

You can believe in and fight for equality but you are still in the group with better education, job prospects, less chance of being assaulted/abused and if you are attacked by the 'other' it will be dealt with more seriously.

The areas you go to are rarely limited and when they are you get the better space, the other group are only allowed in because your group want them.

Many white South Africans opposed Apartheid but benefit from it, the same is true for the patriarchy, many men oppose it but they still benefit from it.

Good analogy sashh

I think men can be feminists.

But feminism is about women's rights and liberation. That is the goal they would be supporting. It isn't about equality with men.

almondcakes wrote - "feminism is about women's rights and liberation. That is the goal they would be supporting. It isn't about equality with men."

For some feminists, including myself, feminism is indeed about women's rights and liberation (from patriarchal oppression). I think that men should support this goal but I think this view is already a minority view, even among female feminists. I think a very disappointingly small number of men would accept that feminism is about women's rights and women's liberation.

If men can be feminists (rather than feminist allies), then these feminist men WILL BE ENTITLED to decide what feminism is about. I fear that feminism would become even less about women's rights and liberation than it is today.

I think feminism needs less male entitlement, not more.

ComicKittta wrote "to have equality we must give equality."

... said the slave to the slave owner.

I get the impression not many men want the "privilege" of having the "blessing" of feminists to call themself a feminist.

Originally feminism was called the women's liberation movement and it was about liberating women from restrictions they had that didn't apply to men.

That's why many feminists do not think feminism is simply about gender equality. They are starting from the premise that in most cases inequality of treatment of the sexes hurts women more than men do the focus is on that; often this will lead to changes also beneficial to men such as shared parental leave.

I do not think feminism is about what is best for both sexes at all. Women's projects all around the world look at the situation of groups of women and girls their lives and needs, and try and work out ways of improving their situation in terms of health, resources, work and so on. This is done within a framework of international human rights documents written based on the experiences and needs of women and girls.

Why would feminism as a movement have any particular expertise in the situation of men? There are plenty of other groups who already have expertise in issues for men.

supporter