Why Feminism is for men too – Men Talk Feminism

Because I think most men want to live in a world which is more fair, equal and just, and feminism is vital to achieving that. You don’t have to look very far to see that patriarchy remains in place across the world, which ultimately means that we men continue to gain power and privilege at the expense of women. The workings of power and privilege are often invisible to those who have it, but whether we like it or not, our lives are shaped by this system and we help to shape it, for example in the pressures to conform to patriarchal ideas of masculinity. Yet this also means that we can play a vital positive role as pro-feminist allies in challenging and changing that system ‘from within’. Feminism is therefore incredibly relevant to men; to our lives and our capacity to create change.

I think that men should embrace feminism because we want to see social justice. However, it is definitely the case that feminism benefits men in a wide range of ways too. It offers us the tools to free ourselves from the unnecessary and harmful constraints of masculinity, which cause so much damage to ourselves and to others as we constantly struggle to live up to them. Feminism can therefore help men to be whoever we want to be - to come closer to our full humanity. For example, by better understanding and communicating about our emotions and inner selves, and developing more intimate, connected and caring relationships with the people in our lives and the world around us. So whilst feminism asks challenging questions of men, including reflecting on and giving up our patriarchal power and privilege, we have so much to gain from embracing it.

I first started learning about feminism when I studied sociology at school. It helped make sense of so many things, explaining different aspects of my life and the world around me in a way that felt very liberating. But I was lucky to grow up in a family environment where there was less pressure to conform to masculine norms than many boys experience. And there have been many occasions where feminism has challenged me, or where I’ve had knee-jerk defensive reactions to feminist analyses. I find it useful in those moments to reflect on why I’m reacting in that way - and whether it may be touching on something personal, some perceptions or behaviours I’m holding onto which are actually quite unhealthy, and need to let go of. Embracing feminism can sometimes be uncomfortable for men, but is absolutely the right thing to do, and has been an incredibly positive experience for me.

Feminism is relevant to men because feminism is pro-men, and feminism seeks to break down traditional oppressive power structures in society that are harmful to men.

Feminism is beneficial to men, because if you read or study feminist literature with intent to understand, it forces men to be introspective and challenge how patriarchal conditioning denies them their full capacity to flourish as human beings. It also allows men to open up their perspective to view women and minorities as equal humans.

No. I started working at a domestic/sexual violence agency and learned how one-sided the perpetration of violence is. It made me start to take interest in women's experience in the world outside my own limited and biased understanding. I started reading feminism and understanding the function of "Imperialist, capitalist, white supremacist patriarchy" as bell hooks calls it. It has provided me room to grow with compassion, develop a much more empathetic understanding for all people and become an overall better person, a better man.

Feminism seeks to end the binary view in which men and women are opposites with men holding power and women being subservient. It doesn't seek to reverse the situation and put women on top, but instead to put all people on a level playing field. This is good in itself, but beyond that, by ending the binary in which men and women are treated as opposites, the movement can also free men from the restrictive rules and stereotypes that prevent them from being a fuller version of themselves.

See above! It's the background to the calls we hear for me to be me open, to feel free to share their emotions, to learn to be happy through equality rather than trying to force some sort of life satisfaction from being "the best" and most dominant.

No, it wasn't until inwas in my early 20s and started hearing more and more about violence against women that i started to learn about Feminism. It was through volunteering for an organisation who combatted violence against women that i learned that a lot of the things I believed in and the world that i wanted to see, was in fact a Feminist one.

How could it not? I have learned - many years ago - Feminism is the first step to liberate the men.

While we are reflecting the role of women in our world, we change our own position. We need to walk away from a toxic masculinity. But I believe this only is possible if we work together to create a world of humans not of Sexes.

May be be I have the advantage of been growing up in a family with strong women. So the surprise was, that there is outside a world, where it´s not normal. This made me a feminist.

Women make up literally half the planet. To pretend that the rights and opportunities of half of humanity doesn't affect men is absurd. When women thrive, we all thrive.

Women have different lived experiences than men, and when they bring those experiences and perspectives into the workplace, or the boardroom, or centres of government, it broadens that organization's capacity for creativity and problem-solving. Feminism means you're more likely to actually get the "best" people in a role, which benefits everyone. Women leaders and politicians are also more likely to promote progressive values, which benefit everyone.

I've always considered myself someone that believed that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. Over the past few years, I've gained a deeper appreciation for the ways in which that's not the case. This has mostly been due to following to feminist women on social media, listening to their stories and exposing myself to different viewpoints.