Together is Better

Apr. 2016.Sources and Additional Sources Denis, Verna St. "Feminism is for      everybody: Aboriginal women, feminism, and diversity." Gender and  Women's Studies in Canada: Critical Terrain(2013): 16. Longman, Molly. “Why College-Aged Men Are Identifying as Feminists.”Pastemagazine.com. N.p.,27 Feb. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2016

 Hooks, Bell. Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Pluto Press, 2000.

Ashe, Fidelma. "Deconstructing the Experiential Bar Male Experience and Feminist Resistance." Men and masculinities 7.2 (2004): 187-204.

Iselin, Kate. "Why I Won't Date Another 'male Feminist' | Kate Iselin." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

"Emma Watson at the HeForShe Campaign 2014 - Official UN Video."YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

Heath, Stephen. "Male feminism." Men in feminism 1 (1987).

Adu-Poku, Samuel. "Envisioning (black) male feminism: A cross-cultural perspective." Journal of Gender Studies 10.2 (2001): 157-167.

Digby, Tom. Men doing feminism. Routledge, 2013.

Institutional Example of Men and Feminism in Public                                             and Higher Education 

While there are education systems that teach their students about feminism and how it is affected, I feel that it is not as taught as it should be. In public education, many of young people believed that feminism is mostly an anti-men organization. In the article, Why College-Aged Men are Identifying as Feminist by Molly Longman, it gives an example on how a young man, Ben Weinberg, learned in high school about feminism and equated it to “raging, braless bitch with an inferiority complex and pixie cut”. He was not impressed with what it meant to be a feminist, which is not as surprising. In the public education system, feminism is not read as much as it should be. It is a big concern because it took Weinberg until college to finally open up the idea of what it means to be a feminist and the movement behind it. In the high education such as college, courses are provided but not many people decided to take them. Many people believe that these classes are not as educating as they really are. Friends of mine, for example, quickly judged when I told them I was considering on becoming a Gender and Women studies minor. Now, there are college clubs where they involve gender groups, I had one in my old university, but someone people like to walk pass it because they choose not to be involved in the courses or anything that has to with this. Also, there are more women who decide to take the course because they are more aware of the issue. As for men, well we can see that in our class room majority are women, which is not a bad thing, but many men do decide to not take the course because they feel that they will be shamed (this is what a friend of mine had said after I had asked him to take the course with me). I feel that it is important if we tell men that it is okay to actually take the course, Like Weinberg, after he took a Gender and Women studies at Drake University, he realized that the female movement was not for females only, but men could become involved as well.

Why do you consider yourself a feminist? Well… I remember when I started dating Damaris and she would speak about how there was were any rights for women. I tried to correct her telling her to stop playing a novella in her mind, but then she got really upset with me. I remember her telling me how women became oppressed and how it still happens. I mean, I did know it happened in real life because I never learned about it in school neither. I just thought men had always the greater power because in our family we always see tio Miguel and tio Hugo always talking about being the strongest. In the cookouts we had, our uncles never really helped out with any of the cooking and cleaning. Remember that time I wanted to help your mom clean up after the party and they said it was a woman’s job? I never felt so upset. EVER! They act like if their pride is the only thing that matters.

Why do you feel that our family does not approve of you considering yourself a feminist?                I think it is because our family has always been so prejudice. I don’t blame them though. They were all brought up like that and I think it is important that they see that I understand what they mean when they talk bad about me. I know there was a time they thought I was homosexual. I didn’t say no but you know I love women. I just didn’t find the power to tell them how to respect women. Can you imagine how they would act if I stood up to them? They always call me names behind my back, but I stopped caring. That is why I love your mom… she’s the real MVP. I’m just happy you opened her eyes and now she doesn’t treat me less than what I really am. I will make sure my children know that they can treat anyone just like humans based on their character, not by their gender… I took Obama’s line though.”

                                   Male Feminist Criticism

In Bell Hooks book, Feminism is For Everybody, she touches on the feminist masculinity for a chapter that is very important. What is important is how she brings up how the feminist movement began, but what is more important is when she explains that no matter if feminism came about or no, women would still be oppressed. “It became evident that even if individual men divested of patriarchal privilege the system of patriarchy, sexism, and male domination would still remain intact, and women would still be exploited and/or oppressed” (67) Bell hooks is aware that there is men out there who are in favor of feminism and does not find any excuse to make them look as if they are not able to support feminism. She also makes a valid point that there are men who did not like the idea of the feminist movement and many anti-feminist do have a strong voice, but “there was a small group of men who recognized that feminist movement was as valid a movement for social justice as all the other radical movements our nation’s history that men had supported… these men became our comrades in our struggle and our allies” (68). So I agree with Bell Hooks where she acknowledges that there is male feminist out there who are supportive to the movement without having to biologically be a woman. Feminism is not anti-male, it never was, but what makes life so sexist is judging on whether someone is more masculine or feminine.

  Bell Hooks did talk about a touchy subject in the beginning of the chapter. She did mention how feminism did begin and how “individual heterosexual women came to the movement from relationships where men were cruel, unkind, violent, unfaithful” (67) which had me trying to figure out if it was true. There are women who do experience unsuccessful relationships, but I do not feel that it was a reason for some women to begin an anti-male faction. There was not a lot that I was against in this only because she did make a lot of sense in the book.            So with this in mind, the only questions are for those who believe that men are at fault of everything bad that happens which shouldn’t be true. Is this the reason why there are things such as male movements to mirror all the negative things women movements have caused?

                  Male Experience and Feminist Resistance

http://jmm.sagepub.com/content/7/2/187.short

          In the article Deconstructing the Experiential Bar by Fidelma Ashe, the author talks about the issues of the male experience when it comes for them to consider themselves as male feminist and the relationship to the gender politics. This article was well written and proved many points to why some men feel that it is not in their place to consider themselves as feminist. Ashes clearly states that the male who do consider themselves as feminist “tend to view gender as culturally produced and [they] understand the relationship between men and woman as one of inequality” (200). So yes, there are men out there who do believe that there is a problem with having an ideological view of men only being superior. There are men who have the right to consider themselves feminist and want to join the movement.

         Also, while this article clearly speaks of how men would prefer to consider themselves as feminist, Ashe makes a valid point that I somewhat agree with “… it is white male experience that feminist have tended to view and as having no connection to feminist” (193) only because there is a difference between the white male experience and men of color experience that leads them to consider themselves as feminist. However, it is not best to say that men who are white cannot relate to feminism just because they are white. Another ideal that I did not agree with is the feminist resistances that suggests “…by implication, that men, because they have no personal experience of gender oppression, lack the experiential basis to develop an oppositional feminist consciousness” (189) Again, this is basically oppressing men because of their biology which should not be considered okay. With this idea that men cannot be feminist lacks what it truly means to be feminist. Even with the patriarchal identity, males, who ARE dominate should still have a say in becoming “fully fledged feminist” (191)

      Some Women Would Not Date Men Who Consider     Themselves a Male Feminist

“…But these men are in a disappointing minority compared to the rest of the male feminists I, and many other women, have encountered: men who use the term “feminist” as either bait or an alter-ego, assuming that their opt-in respect for women will entitle them to legions of adoring lovers – really the most anti-feminist act of all” (Iselin, Why I Won’t Date Another ‘Male Feminist’)            Nowadays to be considered a feminist is a good thing in the female eye; however, when it comes to understand the true meaning of the subject, that’s where it gets sketchy. After reading the article multiple times, it is true what she is saying. Often some men may believe that by calling themselves as a feminist they are able to do whatever they can in order to get a woman’s attention. The fact is that there has been cases where I too have experienced a moment where men who try use the term Feminism as a way to come closer with a girl, but sometimes, I do not think it is their fault for acting that way to an extent.         First of all, it is important to educate the man, instead of blowing him off and quickly believe he is just trying to get love for the night. In one of the class discussions, we talked about how it is better to talk about the problem rather than ignoring it and letting the person become more ignorant. So with this, if a man messages you a picture of his chest and wants you to show him a part of “free the nipple”, I feel that is it is best that you in fact due show him an article of free the nipple. I believe this is a problem with why the author refuses to go on a date with a man who calls himself a feminist. She clearly says in the last paragraph to say no to any male feminist rather than using the term #NotAllMaleFeminist. With this, she is contradicting in her whole article where she does say that she approves of the male feminist who want to take part of the action, but ends it with disapproving of all the male feminist.            A person who is aware of this bias against men can ask why she would say she would not date a man who is considered a feminist. Also, it is important to say the word SOME as if not all men want to use the term feminist to get to you, some men actually mean it. I do understand that she probably has a bad experiences with men who use the term feminist wrong, but what it is important is to stay open minded in all cases.