Poll: Can men be feminists?

[Thurmer]

Subject pretty much sums it up, can men be feminists?

A little backstory for those who care:
I was listening to the radio today and the subject that was brought up for debate was 'Is feminism dead?' I think its not exactly dead but changed. In my opinion the concept of feminism is fairly flawed in that it to me as a guy seems aggressive and selective. At the same time I'm very much for womens rights in the workplace and etc it just seems to me that feminism is not open for communication or discussion. An example, feminism wants equal treatment in the workplace but at the same time do not believe males should get perks such as paid maternity leave.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Not to the same extent since they are part of the group that caused the problem for women. Also, feminism is far from dead, but definatly changed. Which is annoying since we allready have equality in the western world. Now their going for superiority.

 

[the lapalminator]

yeah they can but its a battle that has already been won

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

Simply: Yes, men can be feminists.
Longer: Yes, men can be feminists, but that does not always mean they are accepted in the eyes of some female feminists. The ones that tend to be crazy, and doing more harm than good.

 

[b3nn3tt]

Technically, yes, as feminism is the drive for equality between the sexes. But I think you would be extremely hard-pressed to find a man that would refer to himself as a feminist, regardless of his views on equality

I personally am all for equality, but it has to go both ways. For example, I feel that maternity and paternity leave should be equal

Back to the original question, I'm actually going to vcote no, as it is not a term that is designed for use by men

 

[Glamorgan]

Yeah, they can. I hate most guys in general.

 

[Hisshiss]

Somewhat, but its really hard to figure out if they are being honest, since alot of guys will just devote their entire life to kissing up to girls in an attempt to gain favor. Plus alot of femenists are just stuck up and rude, so its hard to cooperate with them as a male unless your just determined to suck up.

Not to the same extent since they are part of the group that caused the problem for women. Also, feminism is far from dead, but definatly changed. Which is annoying since we allready have equality in the western world. Now their going for superiority.

Seconded.

 

[procyonlotor]

They're not feminists. They're apologists.

 

[Wintermoot]

yes they can be I personaly consider myself a feminist but I am NOT one of those that basicly says that woman are more equal than men Woman and Man are equal

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Ultimately men have to be actualized feminists if the disparity between genders is to be rectified eventually.

 

[Pegghead]

Oh absolutely, in fact the biggest feminist I know is a guy in my class who constantly wears one of those "not violent, not silent" bands, despite being a very happy-go-lucky bloke gets very serious if someone makes a crack about women (Not especially rare considering it's an all male high-school where half of the female staff go off their rocker at the drop of a hat), made an extremely passionate speech recently in History on an early Australian feminist (People or groups that made significant contributions to Australia between 1890 and 1914, notably from the angle of federation. I did Banjo Patterson) and sees his mother as his biggest role model.

 

[Jumpingbean3]

Not to the same extent since they are part of the group that caused the problem for women. Also, feminism is far from dead, but definatly changed. Which is annoying since we allready have equality in the western world. Now their going for superiority.

I think if they're going for superiority then feminism is dead because women wanting to be superior to men sound more like gynocentric antifeminism.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I think a little more deepening of the terms involved might be needed.

Which wave of feminisim are we talking? As if it's any, then men already are.

Not really, yes women can vote, no women are not paid fairly in the same fields as men.

Unproven, and also reversible.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Not to the same extent since they are part of the group that caused the problem for women. Also, feminism is far from dead, but definatly changed. Which is annoying since we allready have equality in the western world. Now their going for superiority.

I think if they're going for superiority then feminism is dead because women wanting to be superior to men sound more like gynocentric antifeminism.

Depends who you base this on. The first examples I thought of were quite clearly going for control. Like a thread I saw here said that this guy had held the door open for a woman and she critizized him for "accusing her of being incapable of doing things herself and that he was holding her back".

When I said feminists I meant the extreame cases. Apologies for the mix up.

 

[tzimize]

Not to the same extent since they are part of the group that caused the problem for women. Also, feminism is far from dead, but definatly changed. Which is annoying since we allready have equality in the western world. Now their going for superiority.

This. The meaning of feminism has changed into a kind of extremism. I'm sure men CAN be feminists...maybe as part of some S/M slave relationship or whatnot...

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Never known a bloke to call himself a feminist unless he was trying to get into some impressionable Uni student's knickers.

 

[HotFezz8]

yes but i wouldn't want to be stuck talking to one of them.

 

[The Giggling Pin]

It depends on who is asking. Some of the sectors of the various feminist movements would most likely say that it was not possible for one of their patriarchal oppressors to strive for equality. Others, namely those in the more liberal feminist groups, would say yes it is.

I couldn't care less, I like the idea of equality for all but certain things about feminism annoy me, like the ones who read the SCUM manifesto and consider it to be a bible to their way of life.

 

[Folio]

Sure they can. Equality is a people's right, not just for your own gender/race/class/way of breathing/whatever.

But I don't see a man be an extreme feminist. That's like destroying yourself.

Although... burning a bra would be fun because you see stuff burn... But not because of the thought behind it.

I've heard about a show about feminism. A woman was a feminist because a boy called her stupid when she was little. She teased him until he cried. She found that justified.

Also this: http://humon.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2yrljn

 

[A Free Man]

By definition a feminist is simply someone who supports feminism, including but not limited to equal rights for women. Therefore anyone could be a femenist and I suppose I would be one as well as I support equal rights for everyone. However I would never introduce myself as one only because of the common misinterpretations and stigma associated with the words feminist and feminism which I suppose are the basis of this thread.