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?

"If my requests for evidence of men's alleged objectivity about feminism are just going to be met with "women are subjective too", then I'm not optimistic about learning why men can allegedly teach feminism without bias."

But there is a difference between being biased because of your analysis of the matter (hence libfems vs radfems) and being biased because, in this case, you are a man and can supposedly not actually understand anything because "lived experience".

Don't misunderstand, I do not want to teach feminism. I was simply reading thread and found all the arguments against terrible. E.g. I haven't heard a single one that in my eyes wouldn't also prevent any white history teacher teaching history. No lived experience, and a clear bias in terms of being the oppressor in many instances. A good answer to this was that feminism is a "political rights movement" but sorry, what is it then doing as an academic subject? Every argument presented would be valid if it was not regarded as an academic subject.

yes well our failure to acknowledge or learn from our own racist / colonialist history is evident in a number of recent political scandals and catastrophes isn't it, including illegal wars, sex abuse in overseas aid organisations, Windrush etc.

As with feminism, the defanging of history occurs in the context of the privileging of white male understandings and epistemologies within academia.

As with feminism, the defanging of history occurs in the context of the privileging of white male understandings and epistemologies within academia.

I agree. And I think that's part of the problem I have with statements about what academic study 'should be' or what universities 'are for'.

I'm all for academic rigour and intellectual engagement, but I sometimes notice a lack of critique of academia's support for, and perpetuation of, the perspectives of affluent white affluent men - perspectives which are then characterised as 'objective'.

Ugh typo. But those men are really really affluent.

that's part of the problem I have with statements about what academic study 'should be' or what universities 'are for'

Yes this! This is the question. Should universities be places where existing knowledge and ideas are opened up and interrogated and tested and developed from a diversity of perspectives and wrt to diverse experiences and material realities, or should they be places where hegemonic narratives are nailed down through the use of epistemologically dubious concepts such as 'objectivity'?