Why Feminism is for men too – Men Talk Feminism

The discrimination against women is so obvious, that any sensible person should thrive to overcome it. You cannot close your eyes in front of the unfairness and oppression women are experiencing. So being a feminist is an act of humanitarianism. Feminism makes the life of all women around us better, easier and happier. So women and as well the surrounding men benefit from it.

A friend of my parents killed himself after his company went bankrupt. This is just one of the most extreme consequence of the pressure that lies on men in traditional patriarchal roles. Others are homelessness, alcohol abuse, loneliness, aggression against self or others. Feminism reduces the pressure on men by allowing them to show weakness, ask for help and to interpret their role in a partnership in a more versatile way.

My mum was working full-time, while my dad worked part-time from home and took care of us. My parents are not political persons, so they wouldn’t identify as feminists, but growing up in such a family, I could never relate to patriarchal concepts of family or gender roles. So when I got politicized as a teenager, I surely became a feminist. First, it was a more liberal feminism, now more intersectional.

Equal treatment of women (and all people) is relevant to men because it makes us all better.

As above but it also adds happiness, peace, calm, healthy competition and a better, broader mindset.

I was raised by a single mom when that wasn’t common and I’ve been supportive of feminism before I even knew there was a term for it.

If you believe in an equal world then the only conclusion should be that feminism is relevant to everyone. If you believe in a world where your abilities to contribute to society, and the rewards you receive from society, should only be determined by merit then feminism is the only conclusion. A world that is equal and fair is relevant because we all want to live in one.

A patriarchal society made my father the man he is. That is someone that drank away his failures till midnight every night. That is someone that would be verbally abusive to his wife and hit his children if they were up because he was embarrassed they saw him drunk. That is someone that honestly believed that hitting his children was better than his father burning him so was OK. I was taught to suck in my feelings as a child, not to cry, not to express. I tried to commit suicide at 12 and am just lucky that I now survive to tell the tale. Anything that helps destroy a system that causes so much pain and anguish surely will benefit men because equality doesn't work.

I have thought of myself as a feminist for all my life. I am proud that I've been raised with my mum as head of the family since I was 10. That being said, growing up in the 80s and 90s, I would say that I have also done things I am far from proud of and behaved in an anti-feminist manner. I can only apologise for that and hope those that I wronged forgive me at some point. I think as I got older into my early twenties I guess I could see the pain that some women were experiencing through the actions of men and it made me sick. That was what made me change and want to fully embrace gender equality and not just play lip service to it.

Feminism is relevant to men because fundamentally it’s about human rights and we all, deep down, want the best for ourselves and others. So why wouldn’t something which is striving to achieve this be relevant? It can be as simplistic as we all come from a woman and will have friends/family/partners etc who have been(and still are being) treated unfairly due to being a woman. Surely we want them to be treated fairly? But greater than this should be an overall view that being treated fairly shouldn’t need to be argued for. We should all strive for a society where being treated fairly goes without being asked for. We should embrace any attempts to achieve this.

People often make the mistake that feminism is for the benefit of women, when in fact an equal society benefits everyone within it. It’s been clear for a long time that boys and men struggle to cope with the expectations which often come with “our role”, and have been conditioned to pretend things are ok when they are not. Feminism can support men by challenging the false ideology that needing help sometimes or not being the “alpha” male is a sign of weakness. Feminism challenges the notion that when men feel disempowered that we must abuse others to gain this. By doing this, it recognises what men have often failed to recognise due to the pressures we have been socialised to believe. Feminism shows it doesn’t need to be a battle of us and them, but can be a united cause to achieve a positive goal for us all.

I’ve always had strong women in my life so have always had a generally positive view of feminism. Sadly though, I have to acknowledge that I haven’t always been supportive of feminism in that my behaviour in the past has been misogynistic and harmful to women. Over time becoming more informed myself around human rights and politics/social theories etc has opened my eyes to how my behaviour can impact on others and how I can use my learning and experiences to support others not to make the same mistakes. Having my eyes open, I now see clearly the inequality and abhorrent behaviours witnessed by women on a day to day basis and recognise things must change. None of us are perfect, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change and aim to be better.

Feminism is everything about ensuring attitudes to any gender are equal, and that opportunities in life and society are equal regardless of gender. By embracing Feminism, all men can be active players in bringing everyone's talents, gifts and qualities to bear in society, men and women alike. Only then will the world truly benefit from what humanity can achieve. By artificially placing barriers of any kind in front of women, men are doing themselves and society as a whole, a huge disservice by cutting off at least 50% of the opportunities for advancement and improved quality of society.

Men have, for too long, been pigeonholed by archaic systems, believing that there is only one way to be a "man" and to be successful and happy. This limiting and often toxic discourse has led men to think that keeping women down in any way, keeps men strong and at the top of the tree. In reality we see emotionally stunted males who are unable to even express themselves properly, high rates of male suicide, depression and feeling of being a failure if they have not managed to fulfil a specific type of stereotype. By embracing feminism, men are freed from all of this and can live their true selves while relieving so much unnecessary pressure. Quite simply, feminism liberates men from limiting stereotypes and allows them to be full partners with women in the betterment of society, hence improving men's fulfillment significantly. What more could anyone ask??

Yes, I have always been a natural feminist, even without having understood what the term truly meant. I have since my youth, never understood why just by being born, you are automatically consigned to a certain role, or limiting experience of life. For me, women have such astonishing innate qualities that by being equal with men, can achieve amazing things in the world. Gender should be irrelevant, it's people's qualities, talents and actions that should count in anything. I have never even had to think about it - feminism is actually the only way to ensure a great world to live in! We've already seen the results of the patriarchal system, it simply doesn't work. Let's change things!!