Feminism (male input welcomed)

I figured since this is the Women's Forum that a thread on Feminism is very appropriate. This IS NOT a male bashing thread (a lot of men assume feminism=anti-male, which is not true...well with radical feminism it pretty much is, but that's another story. lol)!! This thread can be about anything to do with feminism...men, feel free to ask questions about it and share your concerns with it if you have any...

Here are some questions to get this thread off the ground, boys- feel free to answer them too (men can be feminists too!):

Do any of you identify yourselves as being a feminist? If so, do you feel comfortable telling other people this?

What stereotypes do you feel feminists have? Do you feel these are negative or positive?

What does feminism mean to you?

What issues do you think are most important for feminists?

I suppose I will start.

I do identify myself as a feminist, but not long ago I was hesitant to claim this...mainly due to the negative stereotypes feminists seem to have. Neg. stereotypes are plentiful, we are all: lesbians, anti-male, hairy, masculine, and anti-family to name a few.

For me, feminism is all about equality for any disadvantaged group (women, ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, etc) by bringing knowledge to the general public on many of the injustices out there today. It's all about critical thinking, and identifying relationships that lead and/or maintain oppression.

I never liked the idea, people are people, I think feminism and machoism treat others unequal, same with race, Im not sure how explain it

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Originally Posted by Samwhore

I never liked the idea, people are people, I think feminism and machoism treat others unequal, same with race, Im not sure how explain it

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Agreed.

my girlfriend isnt necesarilly a feminist, but she is a strong believer in womans rights, as am i.

speaking from my own point of view, being a male and trying to contribute my own personal thought as much as allowed, you dont need to be an elitist to get your point across.

everyone is equal, should be treated equal, and thats the end of the road.

no one is better or worse.

but woman have been mistreated in the past and it needs to change.

^^^ Feminism killed chivalry. I hold the door for anyone thats reasonably close enough - male/female/dog etc etc, but its out of common courtesy.

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Originally Posted by Samwhore

I never liked the idea, people are people, I think feminism and machoism treat others unequal, same with race, Im not sure how explain it

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See, that's the misconception the public has with feminism. No feminist would admit to treating other people unequal, or discriminating against someone. BUT this DOES happen a lot, I will admit. For example, Western Feminists (ie white, middle class women) are often criticized for leaving out 'other' feminists, mainly those of color or of an alternative sexual preference. The goal of feminism (or what the goal should be) imo is to unite all disadvantaged people and work together for equality, and equal rights under the law. So yes, feminism sometimes does treat other unequal, but in general I definitely think it's a positive thing.

Also, just to make this clear, most feminist perspectives INCLUDE race, class, AND sex...feminism isn't just about women, it's also about visual minorities and people with low socioeconomic statuses.

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Originally Posted by dutch.lover

See, that's the misconception the public has with feminism. No feminist would admit to treating other people unequal, or discriminating against someone. BUT this DOES happen a lot, I will admit. For example, Western Feminists (ie white, middle class women) are often criticized for leaving out 'other' feminists, mainly those of color or of an alternative sexual preference. The goal of feminism (or what the goal should be) imo is to unite all disadvantaged people and work together for equality, and equal rights under the law. So yes, feminism sometimes does treat other unequal, but in general I definitely think it's a positive thing.

Also, just to make this clear, most feminist perspectives INCLUDE race, class, AND sex...feminism isn't just about women, it's also about visual minorities and people with low socioeconomic statuses.

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I acknowledge your statement, but a main reason why I dont like the idea is that we shouldnt need to be fighting for equal rights in the first place, and that these types of groups should not need to exist because we should all tolerate each others differences and not let them play a role in how we view people

:hippy:

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Originally Posted by rickytikki

the feminism ive encountered is were women want to be treated like men and they dont want guys holding doors for them and shit and its really annoying casue its just us trying to be nice because isnt that how guys are supposed to treat women , chivalrously (sp). so yea when girls act like that it pisses me off, but you might be talking about a different sort of feminism

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I hear this a lot from guys, and I can obviously see how frusterating this can be! Most women like chivalry, and most (well maybe not most, but a lot) women are feminists....but not all feminists are against chivalry...I hope that made sense. lol. I personally think chivalry is just an act to show respect for someone, I don't necessarily think it's specifically to please women. I personally try to be 'equal' to men in that respect, by not expecting men to open doors for me, for example. If they want to, that's fine, but I would never expect them to nor would I get offended if they wanted to do that for me.

The category of Radical Feminists (the generally anti-male ones) would most definitely have a problem with chivalry, because they would view it as men insinuating women are weak- therefore adding to their belief that it is specifically men who oppress women. This is the other common misconception: all feminists believe it is ONLY men to blame for their oppression. Not all feminists believe this...there are many, many multi-causal hypotheses pertaining to oppression out there, not just male-centered ones.

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Originally Posted by Samwhore

I acknowledge your statement, but a main reason why I dont like the idea is that we shouldnt need to be fighting for equal rights in the first place, and that these types of groups should not need to exist because we should all tolerate each others differences and not let them play a role in how we view people

:hippy:

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I totally agree with you except for one thing (which i will get to in a sec). I can see where you are coming from when you say we should tolerate everyone, etc...by having a group 'feminism' it by default creates an "us against them" situation. Since women are fighting oppression, they are obviously fighting against something, therefore there is an enemy. This is sort of a negative way to view it, but anyways...

What I disagree with is your statement "we shouldnt need to be fighting for equal rights in the first place." Of course we should! Try telling that to the native women on the streets, the lesbians who feel shunned from their religions or communities, the women who are only making 70cents on the male dollar...etc. If there wasn't a group to work towards improving life for all these disadvantaged groups, they would never get anywhere. If it weren't for feminists, we would still be men's property...we would still be unable to vote, and unable to own property (even as early as the 60s and 70s women were not able to take out a credit card without a male cosigner).