Can a man teach feminism?

[lucydogz]

Reading the Guardian colour supp today, an article about gal dem quotes 2 young black women saying they were shocked, when taking a class on Feminism at Bristol university, that it was taken by white man.
Firstly, I see no relevance in his race. But why shouldn't a man teach Feminism?

@thebewilderness point proven. Thanks.

Monday55 I've looked back at my first comment directed to you and I cannot see that it is aggressive. However, if you have found it to be aggressive then I apologise, since that was not my intention.

I have been saying this since the backlash started in the early eighties, and I said it in this thread also.
Feminism is the political movement for the liberation of women.
Always has been.
The droids you are looking for are the Egalitarians down the hall.

Got a severe case of correctile dysfunction here.

.you've decided to ignore the vast amount of examples given by other users and quiet frankly zero examples from your side to try and elaborate your perspective on the matter... and you don't even believe in the real meaning of feminism because you've come up with a better definition ? pfft

thebewilderness isn't making up a definition of feminism. Since you're keen on self-study you are welcome to research radical feminism for yourself.

I would also point out, that earlier in the thread I wrote quite a long piece in why I don't think men should teach feminism. And others have given thoughtful replies as well - some of them from the perspective of working academics.

Gah. Men shouldn't teach feminism. Hubris.

Men shouldn't teach feminism.

Do you have to be a capitalist/socialist to teach about capitalism/socialism? If we take the general consensus on this board that men can't be feminists (though yes it is not unanimous but let's go with it), why does that also necessarily imply they can't teach it? We are talking teaching here, not being a leader in research on feminism.

Do you have to be X to teach X? And if it depends on what X is, why does it depend, and why is feminism different.

Instructors take their biases into the classroom with them. I would rather have a history teacher that loved history rather than one who is contemptuous of it or indifferent to it.
Men can teach feminism but not very well, so they ought not to do so.

But that assumes every man is indifferent to feminism. Is that really so? I accept the notion that it is not possible to experience it the same way women do. But is that necessary? Do all grief counselors need to have experienced the same kind of grief the people they counsel are suffering? Not saying there should be tons of men who do it, but in this one case where the person was probably assigned it anyway, and is now accused of "taking a woman's wage" and being worse at his job because he is a man. I agree with most things said on here, strongly even, but this is something I can't get behind.

Would you really want someone who has never felt grief to counsel people? I think not.

I am not sure why you have more sympathy for the hypothetical male assigned teacher than you do for the woman he displaces or the women he teaches.
Again I suggest you google Hugo Schwyzer for the best example of a man teaching Women's Studies.

I have no idea. But I would be incredibly surprised if every psychiatrist / counselor / therapist has the same experiences of everyone they help.

Great so one man fucked up i presume so not a single one can do well? Sorry but that’s shitty generalizing. ANd there it is “woman he displaces” as if he is some evil git as if only women have a right to this job. That’s no different than saying “only men will do well at jobs X Y and Z”.

Sorry but this kind of thinking is exactly the same as all the shit recently about Scar Johansson or Ruby Rose or what her name is. “Oh no they can’t do the role justice, they don’t know what it’s like” “oh no she is stealing from trans actors”. “Oh no she isn’t a real lesbian”.

Feminism is on the A level politics curriculum in most schools there would only be 1 politics teacher. What would those of you suggesting men can't teach feminism suggest if that one teacher is male.

Abandon the subject? Get a women who has not studied the subject academically to teach it?

Practical ideas please.

But I would be incredibly surprised if every psychiatrist / counselor / therapist has the same experiences of everyone they help.

I'm done.
By my count that is the third time you have falsely restated the question.
Your empathy for the hypothetical d00d is impressive, while your straw man arguments and goal post moving are simply tedious.

The subject has long since been abandoned in favor of gender studies at the behest of men, in the name of equality and fairness.

You answered my question with a question. I made the point more precise. That is not falsely restating the question. And lmao just because you have no good answer doesn’t make it a straw man argument. What exactly have I replaced your argument with? I listed a bunch of equivalent scenarios and instead of admitting your argument is logically equivalent you call it straw man to avoid admitting your only basis is ideology. Which funnily enough I would accept. But instead you keep pretending there is a logical argument behind your reasoning. There’s not, at least not a good one.

Ah so that’s why you’re peeved about this topic.

Gender studies - ahhhhh you're talking degree level. Academia NOT teaching as I explained previously.

Teaching A levels - Politics - Feminism is one strand that is taught.

If there is no qualified woman in the school is it better to not teach feminism at all?

I have no idea.

Indeed.

If there is no qualified woman in the school is it better to not teach feminism at all?

Is it better to teach maths incorrectly or not at all? I'd say best forget it if you aren't going to do it right.

Not that anyone does teach 'feminism' any more of course. So this is all completely hypothetical.

Do you? Are you positive every therapist has experience the same trauma as the people they are helping? Would be quite an achievement for you to have spoken to them all.

Anyway, bunch of hypocrites, in the ruby rose thread you made fun of ppl getting upset at her being given the role or ScaJo the trans role and here you are using the same reasoning as those people to claim this guy shouldn’t teach feminism.

Feminism is on the A level politics curriculum.

It is taught in schools.

So we should abandon teaching young people political theory and structural politics because a man might not be able to teach one strand of the A level?

Total and utter nonsense.

thebewilderness isn't making up a definition of feminism please could we have a link to her/your source? Where does your definition come from? According to the book I have, the women fighting for women's rights in the 18th c in europe were fighting for equality. So were the feminists (males and females? the suffrage movement was started by a man and woman?) of the 19th c. Is my book wrong???

On a different point, I think I might have solved the conundrum relating to the subject of this thread. Basically the 5 or so posters on here who are radical feminists and want liberation would not take a mainstream course in feminism anyway. Because they think it is all wrong. So it doesn't really matter who teaches it. Is that a fair comment?

Are you positive every therapist has experience the same trauma as the people they are helping?

This seems to be where you are confused.
Grief is an experience most humans have had.
You restated it to "the same kind of grief". Here in the quote you repeat the same argument ad absurdum.
I assumed the words you were using were intentional and purposeful.
That is why I choose not to engage with you further.

Anyway, bunch of hypocrites, in the ruby rose thread you made fun of ppl getting upset at her being given the role or ScaJo the trans role and here you are using the same reasoning as those people to claim this guy shouldn’t teach feminism.

What's that now?

I didn't even post on those, how can I be a hypocrite?

I don't see how anyone having an opinion about someone getting or not getting a role, when they are currently UNDER-REPRESENTED in the film industry has anything to do with not thinking it is possible for a man getting a role of teaching something they can never understand, when they are also OVER-REPRESENTED in teaching at Uni.

Can you explain how the correlation works please. Especially when you haven't actually posted on the thread in question.

And are you really going to try and 'get' 'us' on comments about Scarlet Johannson, actress, who was un-allowed to play a part, because some men have incorrectly transed a cartoon character? I mean the levels of delusion are strong in this one. Lol.