Why Feminism is for men too – Men Talk Feminism

My understanding is that Feminism wants freedom for everyone from the stifling, unnatural, gender stereotypes and the hierarchal, oppressive culture that comes with them.

I believe that all our liberation and happiness are bound together. I know that I am DONE with playing around on the greased ladder of win/lose, power-over, oppress or be oppressed. I want I and all my brother to live in a world where we are not policing each other and the women around us just to feel like we aren't at the bottom of the heap.

My embrace of feminism started early but continues to growth in depth and courage. I was raised by an independent business woman, in a diverse little town. I saw that diversity and inclusion led to joy and richness. I knew that respecting women was important. However, in my teens, 20s, and 30s, I know I participated in sexist jokes, putdown culture, homophobic comments, etc. I also had lots of assumptions about how women should act in their bodies and how they should respond to mine. Although I began my career in Outdoor Education, with lots of female leaders, I didn't always 100% believe their stories, their strengths, and their abilities. For me, it took doing men's work, and seeing how hierarchal structures and rape culture affected boys and men, that I really committed to rooting out the hidden biases in my own thinking. And then explicitly calling myself a feminist.

Humanity is hurt by gender discrimination. We are greater if we embrace full equality.

The blend of energy, perceptions, intellect and wisdom that comes from full equality and inclusion improves the quality of all our lives.

I grew up in a male-dominated society. The Ireland of my youth was a patriarchy largely controlled by Catholic Church which set the cultural, civil and legal boundaries on gender roles. The situation in ‘60s, ‘70s and 80s Ireland was reinforced by the patriarchal societies and culture in the UK and US. This environment shaped my world view. In addition to my mother, two other strong, independent, single women has a major influence on my formative years; so, I always believed in equality, even though power and wealth was vested in men, not women. From the birth of my daughter (1990) I have been vociferous in advocating full equality between the sexes and female superiority in many spheres. I think the term “feminist” is dated now and no longer appropriate for one who argues that gender discrimination is nonsense and actively seeks to achieve full equality for everyone.

Feminism shows that patriarchal ideas of what it means to be a man are not natural, inevitable and unchangeable. This provides a way to understand how harmful ideas impact on us, but also how our actions harm women and other folks in our lives.

Feminism enables men to decrease the harm they do to women, providing a pathway for more liberated, hurting relationships and connections. Feminsim also allows men to break down the oppressive narratives that create barriers to our health, growth and development.

No, I grew up in a context where feminism was not viewed in a positive light. It was exposure to the harms of patriarchy in being done to women in my life that forced a realisation about the importance of femnism.

Feminism shows how violence is done to people, for example how men are taught to be emotionally incompetent through continued traumatic events.

Men need to get in touch with themselves, become able to fully connect, and have nonviolent tools to negotiate and communicate their needs.

Yes, I always understood feminism as equality. Although my understanding has grown and hopefully will continue to grow.

Generally speaking, because it's morally just that all individuals, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ethnicity be socially, lawfully, politically, economically, and existentially equal. Hence, Feminism is relavant to men as it is LGBT rights to heterosexuals or ethnic parity to white people. More specifically, given the social status men hold in most intrisically gendered-biased societies, it is their moral duty to bring about change, from within, so that the above could come about.

Because by achieving gender parity, we will be finally pulling the plug on the old-fashionedly patriarchal representation of masculinity whereby a man has to be overly masculine to be regarded as such, one that prevents them men from being their true selves.

Throughout history, we have seen women achieve success by mimicking masculine traits, think of Thatcher. Being raised by a single mother, and seeing her having to make ends meet, alone, in such a gender-biased reality, where a woman has to be "strong" or have an "iron fist" to be able to achieve their goals, had me wonder, but above all, had me decide to be part of the change.