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This article gives an overview of men’s interaction with feminism: the social movement and its ideology. For the purposes of this article the term 'feminism' will be used to refer to the social movement which strives for gender equality. The article will use the term 'profeminist' to refer to men who sympathize with the feminist movement. First-wave feminism was a social movement in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that mostly focused on gaining women’s suffrage, along with other tangible inequalities within the structure of American society. Second-wave feminism was composed of diverse feminist activities that lasted from the early sixties to the late eighties. Its goals were varied, and the emphasis of this movement was often placed on the less quantitative aspects of feminist ideology, such as attention to social construction of gender.

The relationship between men and feminism has been complex and intricate. Most scholars divide male reactions to feminism into three categories: profeminist, anti-feminist, and masculinist. This article examines three key ideas in understanding men and feminism: feminist challenges to men, the history of men and feminism, and the debate over whether or not men can be ‘feminists.’

Feminist Challenges to Men

Simply stated, feminists have indirectly demanded men to give up some of their power and minimize patriarchy in order to attain gender equality and a more balanced, functional society. A society that allows and encourages its women to develop and explore themselves as individuals. There are several ways in which feminism directs these challenges to men and how they play out on the male side of society.

Political

During First-wave feminism, feminists demanded a portion of male power by fighting for the same basic political rights granted to their male counterparts. The most emphasized example of this is the right to vote. Inclusion of women in politics required men with political power not only to give females space in this public arena, but also, in the long term, to give greater importance to women and children’s issues, such as reproductive rights and child labor laws. At the same time, feminists demanded co-education and equal resources allotted to both genders, from the elementary to collegiate levels.

Feminists sought similar changes during Second-wave feminism in the working world, where women strove to obtain equal positions of power within the business structure. This required men to give up their monopoly of economic power in the public sphere, making feminism, in many cases, literally costly to men. However, this part of the feminist movement is considered incomplete to many feminists since Congress has still not passed the Equal Pay Act, which would make the earning gap between the genders illegal.

Another aspect of the public sphere feminists have wanted to change is gender segregation in the labor force, which repeatedly relegates women to less powerful, less lucrative jobs. Feminists want men to include women in traditionally male-dominated positions, such as doctors, lawyers, and leaders in business, so that women aren’t confined to holding jobs such as nurses, secretaries, and teachers.

Second Wave feminists wanted men to take gender discrimination and sexual harassment much more seriously. These two actions prevent women’s personal growth and violate their comfort in the workplace. These offenses were made more condemnable in the workplace, in the educational system, and even sometimes in organized religions. Many feminists argue that ending gender discrimination can start with the end of negative gender stereotypes as well.

Personal

One of the basic ways men have been asked to incorporate feminism in their own lives is through their personal relationships with women. Feminists insist that men to do their part to stop rape, sexual exploitation, and violence against women.

Furthermore, feminists argue that men should use relationships as a tool towards equality, respect, and positive communication between the genders. These ideals aim to eliminate enforced dependency inherent to imbalanced and/or abusive relationships. Betty Friedan, a Second Wave feminist writer, is a proponent of the idea that that relationships are ultimately more satisfying when equality is established. She argues that in imbalanced relationships “beneath the phony togetherness, wearing those masks, we are both alone.”

Ideas

On an ideological level, feminists have insisted that men respect women as human beings. They have demanded open acknowledgment of their struggle with patriarchal oppression, as well as the end of detrimental gender stereotyping. They also want more open dialog between men and women about gender issues in order to reach greater understanding between the genders. These requests, although less tangible, indirectly challenge men to give more of their time, thought, and empathy to women struggling under patriarchy.

History of Men's Engagement with Feminism

Pro Feminists

Even those men who have identified as profeminists have occasionally fallen short of the goals of the feminist movement. Others have sometimes been prematurely self-congratulatory. Frequently, men who were profeminists were already well-positioned to support feminism because of strong feminist influences in their lives. That being said, male profeminists have contributed in many significant ways to the feminist movement.

Dating back to Classical Greece, men have engaged in discussions of women in power. In Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, women are given power with their roles as political decision-makers. Similarly, in The Republic, Plato suggests an ‘ideal’ state in which women would receive equal education and opportunities to participate in activities of the state, at least within the guardian class. Although both Lysistrata and The Republic present problems within contemporary feminist readings, they demonstrate the beginnings of men’s concern with women’s issues.

During the Renaissance, various philosophers began to engage in feminist dialogues. One such author is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa author of La Supériorité du sexe feminine (Superiority of the female sex). Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the majority of profeminist authors emerged from France, including Denis Diderot, Paul Henri d’Holbach, and Charles Louis de Montesquieu. Montesquieu, for example, introduced forceful female characters, like Roxana in his Persian Letters, who subverted patriarchal systems, and exemplified his arguments against despotism.

Moving into the nineteenth century, feminism and abolitionism began to join forces. Men within the abolitionist movement became more aware of the importance of hearing women’s voices. In 1849, when women were refused the right to participate at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, American men defended women’s right to be seated alongside the men. They argued that it was hypocritical to forbid women and men from sitting together at this convention to end slavery; they cited similar segregationist arguments in America that were used to separate whites and blacks. When women were still denied the privilege to join in the proceedings, well known abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Lenox Remond, Nathanial P. Rodgers, and Henry Stanton, all elected to sit silently with the women.

One major argument against female participation, both at the World Anti-Slavery Convention, and commonly in the nineteenth century, was the suggestion that women were ill-constituted to assume male responsibilities. They were considered too virtuous for the world of male debauchery. Profeminist Thomas Wentworth Higginson argued against this, stating:

I do not see how any woman can avoid a thrill of indignation when she first opens her eyes to the fact that it is really contempt, not reverence, that has so long kept her sex from an equal share of legal, political, and educational rights… not because she is man’s better half, but because she is his other half. She needs them, not as an angel, but as a fraction of humanity.

During the end of the 19th century, the Greenwich Village radicals attempted to institute feminist ideals into their lives by adopting new kinds of relationships with women. They embraced important feminist objectives, like women’s sexual autonomy and access to birth control. This adoption of feminist ideals into personal life, and the boundary-crossing between private and political life, later became a major theme within the feminist movement.

By the mid-twentieth century, Second Wave feminists began to argue that ‘the personal is political,’ a trend that legitimized and forced political recognition of women’s personal, emotional, and sexual experiences. It also required that profeminist men examine where their personal practices and political ideals connected. By the 1970’s, men began to examine their own masculinity using a feminist framework.

Today many men associate themselves with profeminist groups. These groups include:

• M.A.N. for the E.R.A-. Men Allied Nationally for the Equal Rights Amendment,
• NOMAS- the National Organization for Men against Sexism
• RAVEN- Rape And Violence End Now in St. Louis
• MOVE- Men Overcoming Violence, or MOVE in San Francisco

Anti Feminist

Some men have reacted to feminist claims by vigorously defending traditional gender roles and the claim that men are naturally superior to women. This response was originally characterized by intense opposition to women’s suffrage, with the intent of protecting women from the corruptive influences of politics.

Aside from issues of suffrage, anti-feminist arguments typically advocate separate and complementary spheres of influence, with men controlling the public sphere. Antifeminists often invoke images of a past where these gender roles were commonly accepted. Other defenses include appeals to religious doctrine and biological differences between the sexes.

Masculinist

Other men have reacted to feminist claims by refusing to engage them at all, instead seeking to re-establish a more traditional masculine ideal in order to prevent the feminization of society. This movement is associated with the formation of fraternal organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and the YMCA. Their founding is seen by some as an attempt to instill traditional masculinity and male bonding (Homosociality) in its memebers.

Like anti-feminist arguments, masculinists often argue against women’s presence in the public sphere. However, where anti-feminists strive to protect women, masculinists seek to prevent the emasculation of male leaders. In fact, masculinists claim that men have been hurt by feminist advances, and that they should empower themselves by revitalizing their masculinity. This argument was also echoed in religious circles with the Muscular Christianity movement. In more contemporary times, the masculinist movement is frequently associated with Robert Bly and the Mythopoetic men's movement.

Arguments Surrounding Male Participation in Feminism

Introduction

There is significant debate over whether or not men can be feminists. While some scholars argue that men cannot be feminists because of the intrinsic differences between the sexes; others argue that men’s identification with the feminist movement is necessary for furthering the feminist cause.

Arguments against male participation in feminism

Some female feminists argue that men cannot be feminists simply because they are not women. During First-wave feminism, the bourgeois leaders of the feminist movement often portrayed men as the all-powerful, oppressive enemy . This view actually reinforced sexist ideology that discouraged men from supporting the feminist cause, let alone identify themselves as feminists. Unfortunately, as men have come to support the feminist cause, they have experienced a backlash from women and men alike.

Some feminist scholars argue that the privileges inherently granted to men prevent men from identifying with true feminist struggles, thus making it impossible for them to truly identify with feminists. Feminist scholars have also declared that men’s historical control of language has held women back from defining their place in society . Thus, while men may claim to be feminists, some scholars agree that being feminist is more than being in intellectual agreement with theoretic principles. They argue that men can support the feminist movement but not define themselves as feminists because they have never been women and do not experience the world as women have.

Arguments for male participation in feminism

Some feminist writers maintain that identifying as a feminist is the strongest stand men can take in the struggle against sexism. They have argued that men should be allowed, or even encouraged, to participate in the feminist movement. Male participation would reflect a ‘male affirmative’ position. In this context, male affirmative simply refers to a belief in the potential and basic humanity of the male gender.

A common idea supporting men’s inclusion as ‘feminists’ is that excluding men from the feminist movement labels it as solely a female task, which scholars argue is itself sexist . They assert that until men share equal responsibility for struggling to end sexism, the feminist movement will reflect the very sexist contradiction it wishes to eradicate.

Another point made in support of men’s participation in the feminist movement revolves around the idea that rigid sex roles also hurt men. For instance, men of lower socioeconomic classes and marginalized racial groups are oppressed by the notion that masculinity is linked to economic power. Some have gone on to say that these men’s attempts to exercise their nonexistent power results in greater gender conflict, insecurity and violence.

One benefit of male participation in the feminist movement is that it is often easier for men to engage and confront their male peers than it is for women to do the same. Scholars claim that since men are primarily responsible for sexist oppression, they are in a better position to combat it themselves. Again, most feminists are careful about this point, emphasizing that the bulk of the work, particularly leadership roles, in the feminist movement is more appropriate for women. There remains a notable debate about what those men involved in the feminist movement should call themselves. Typically, they are referred to by one of three terms: profeminist, anti-sexist, or simply feminist.

Men use the term ‘anti-sexist’ as a reaction to feminists’ claims that men cannot call themselves feminists. However, its use is sometimes considered passive and contrary, instead of making a more powerful assertion about what men support.

The term ‘profeminist’ occupies the middle ground in this semantic debate, because it offers a degree of closeness to feminism without co-opting the term. Also, the prefix ‘pro’ characterizes the term as more proactive and positive (as opposed to anti-sexist). There has been some debate regarding the use of the hyphen (identifying as a ‘pro-feminist’ as opposed to a profeminist) claiming that it distances the term too much from feminism proper. Nonetheless, 'profeminist' seems to be the term of choice at this time.

References

1. Michael S. Kimmel, “Who’s Afraid of Men Doing Feminism?,” from Men Doing Feminism, Tom Digby, ed. New York: Routledge, 1993, 57-68.
2. Andrea Dworkin. “I Want a Twenty-Four-Hour Truce During Which There Is No Rape.” 1983. 15.
3. ^ Michael S. Kimmel, “Introduction,” in Against the Tide: Pro-Feminist Men in the U.S., 1776-1990, A Documentary History. Boston: Beacon 1992, 1-51.
4. Betty Friedan. It Changed My Life. 1976. 340.
5. ^ Feminism & Masculinities, Peter F. Murphy, ed. Oxford University Press, 2004.
6. ^ bell hooks, “Men: Comrades in Struggle,” in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984).
7. ^ 6. Russ Ervin Funk, “The Power of Naming: Why Men Can’t Be Feminists,” in Feminista!: The Journal of Feminist Construction 1, no. 4.
8. ^ Harry Brod, “To Be a Man, or Not to be a Man — That Is the Feminist Question,” in Men Doing Feminism, Tom Digby, ed. (NY: Routledge, 1993), 197-212.