Why Feminism is for men too – Men Talk Feminism

Feminism is relevant to men because feminism calls for equal rights for the sexes. Male or female, doesn’t matter. We all deserve equal rights and to eliminate inequality of the sexes.

Feminism benefits us men because it teaches that women are more than playthings, and that we can all benefit from no patriarchy. Even men can be fought for, since men are vulnerable too. It’s okay for men to cry. It’s just human. Gender and sex doesn’t matter.

As long as I can remember, I noticed how my dad played rock songs in the car. I asked him what some of the songs meant and well, they were misogynistic. I’m a big rock fan and I love Nirvana the most, because of his feminist views and his work/music.

The current system harms both men and women; while women definitely have it worst, men are also stripped from parts of the human experience that are deemed "girly", like being open about emotions or showing weakness. We are also imposed expectations about our financial earnings, that put most men under tremendous strain specially when it has become clear that very few are able to reach this imaginary goal.

In my personal experience, it has improved my relationships with all women greatly. It has also allowed me to filter out people in mt life that I don't agree with ideologically. Most of all, it has allowed me to be in touch with parts of my personality that I had previously buried because they are deemed not manly enough. I am able to embrace who I am and understand others better.

I've always been aware of the ideology, but didn't embrace it until a series of very awful events in my country triggered a massive wave of attention to the feminists protests going on. Most women in my life at the time, even if they didn't identify with feminism themselves, shared with me their experiences as women and it was eye opening to me. I then started doing ressearch and reading on the topic on my own.

Feminism is relevant to men because feminism is the only liberating ideology that can free men from the suffering we endure under patriarchy. We think patriarchy benefits us, and it does in some ways, but it also costs us a lot by keeping us trapped away from developing as full human beings, and not just men hungry for power or authority because we're taught to associate those things with masculinity.

Feminism benefits men by calling upon us to step into our full humanity instead of simply living within a rather stifling and dehumanizing conception of masculinity. Men are improved and liberated by feminism, if we can rise to the responsibility and vulnerability that comes with honest reflection in the pursuit of a better way of life. Not only for women, but for women, children, trans people and all members of the LGBTQ+ community. I learned in The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner (1986) that patriarchal bias (sexism) may be the oldest form of discrimination and subjugation in human history. It predates race and class as divisive categorizations. Therefore, if we rise to a feminist understanding of masculinity, we are better equipped to confront race and class bias too.

I haven't always embraced feminism. Like most men born and raised in patriarchal societies, or like people born in colonial nations that hide their history, I was unaware of the extensive and historical suffering of women. It was not covered in history books in school. Only when I began self-educating by seeking out books that got to the roots of these structural issues of white supremacy, patriarchy, and classism, was I able to begin opening my mind to the truth that women have been subdued by Western society for thousands of years. Now I consider myself a feminist, through and through. I believe that the only path to collective liberation includes a feminist foundation. Sexual bias is the oldest, it has inspired race and class bias. I firmly believe now that feminism is perhaps the only way we can save our species from itself.

My understanding of feminism is as a belief in fairness, dignity and justice for all, regardless of any signifiers of identity. This applies to everyone - all genders, races, social classes and so on.

Men have a vested interest in supporting feminism (as I understand it) as it creates a better and fairer world for everyone, as well as emancipating men from narrow and outdated ideas of masculinity.

Not always. I was raised in a 'dual patriarchal' culture - British and Indian. I took on some unhealthy ideas about gender (which I now understand happens unconsciously at a very young age). However, I also have a deep belief in fairness and justice, that I seem to have been born with, and after a few years in manhood, began to question and challenge the gender roles that are restrictive and damaging for everyone. This has ultimately led to my work now in facilitating men's groups and conversations and researching masculinity to enable everyone to challenge the status quo which is harming men, society and the planet. More details here: https://www.leaderbrotherson.com/

It is our common society - and thus gender justice should naturally be our common concern (just as it is the concern of all of us to eliminate discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or religion etc.). To say that feminism is irrelevant ... yes, basically to say that one is not a feminist means that one accepts and approves of patriarchal power relations and restrictions based on role models. In this respect, the question is rather: Why does someone think that feminism could be irrelevant for them?

Where to start? Gender stereotypes and traditional male socialisation ultimately cause men to lose contact with their feelings, their inner impulses, their worries and needs, but also longings and desires - which per se already makes one more susceptible to psychological and physical problems and also often manifests itself in unsatisfactory relationships (with women, other men, our children and above all ourselves) or in increased addiction and suicide rates. Or to put it more succinctly: Liberation from the constant pressure to be the superman! Isn't that enough?

I think I've always suffered from gender stereotypes, even as a boy, but until I started studying psychology I don't think I even knew what feminism was. But then it only took a few books and a few conversations with fellow feminist students - and it was clear to me that this was "my movement" ... and it has always remained so for the last 30 years: my life, my work, my mission.