A New Alliance?

I've been having some discussions with Wendy McElroy, who is recognized as a leader in the "Individualist Feminist" movement. iFeminism, as it's called, is far removed from NOW-ideologies and dogma, and from the number of articles she's written on false accusations, domestic violence against men, and the inconsistencies of mainstream feminism, she has consistently given men a fair shake in her writing. Wendy and I have been discussing ways to try to work together on common goals that both Mensactivism.org and iFeminism.com share, but I want to get reader feedback on this idea. Click "Read More" below to read more info and please post your thoughts on all of this! I value and will consider all thoughts by Mensactivism.org readers on how to handle this potential alliance.

More background on iFeminism:

Individualist feminism, as I mentioned above, is nothing like the feminist movement run by Patricia Ireland, Andrea Dworkin, and others like them. Individualist feminism focuses...well, on individualism. Most women (and yes, there are also male iFeminists) in this group tend to have opposite views than the mainstream feminist movement. Many tenets of the iFeminist movement are:

• Pro-capitalism: McElroy in particular is a very strong libertarian and capitalistic thinker. Followers of Ayn Rand's philosophy tend to take to iFeminism, because of the strong support for laissez faire capitalism and an open democracy.

• Pro-second amendment: Many iFeminists have been outspoken for the rights of Americans to own guns.

• Free speech activists: The need for free speech is an obvious aspect of iFeminism. After all, they're speaking out against the politically correct brand of feminism that wants to censor opposing views. Also, many women and men in this movement are pro-pornography, as part and parcel of free speech.

• Pro-men's rights: Most significantly to us, many iFeminists have spoken out on behalf of men's rights. Whether it's debunking the myth that only women are victims of domestic violence, or pointing out that all fathers are not potential child molesters, iFeminists have done a great deal of activism on behalf of men.

In short, the "feminism" in iFeminism doesn't have the negative connotations that that we normally associate it with. In fact, I'd say iFeminism is even different from "equity feminism," a term made popular by Christina Hoff Sommers. CHS and other equity feminists often tend to have a conservative agenda, but iFeminists seem to be of a more varied political and philosophical background.

Some links to read up on:

An overview of individualist feminism

Speaking out against myths about domestic violence

Refuting the idea that all fathers are potential child molesters

The iFeminist.com web site.

So what will this "alliance" entail?

First, let me explain what a potential partnership with iFeminism.com will not entail. I do not intend to compromise the focus and purpose of The Men's Activsm News Network, which serves to inform and empower readers about men's rights issues. Mensactivism.org and iFeminism.com will remain independent entities, each with their own respective web sites and memberships. We will not have editorial or censorial control over the other, but will share news and information that both groups are interested in. There will be no administrative changes to the web sites, and I'm not planning to add or remove any of our Mensactivism.org co-administrators.

For example, iFeminism and Mensactivism.org are both interested in exposing inconsistencies in the mainstream feminist movement. We both promote the ideologies of free speech over politically correct censorship, the civil liberties of men (and women) accused of domestic violence and/or rape, and equality for men and women under the law. Wendy's iFeminist e-mail newsletter often includes links to the same stories posted to Mensactivism.org. I'm sure both of us have used the other as a place to check for news stories relevant to our readership already.

Some examples of joint projects iFeminism.com and Mensactivism.org could work on are: a joint chat room and/or bulletin board, or a mutual letter writing or awareness campaign, etc. Wendy has also suggested that we get a joint anthology started about gender equality and justice, with content from both men and women. There are many interesting possibilities.

What's in it for us?

A very important question, of course. :)

Credibility. As unfair as this fact may be, in the current political climate, women who speak up for men's rights are often more likely to get our message across than we are. This isn't to discount the activism efforts of Mensactivism.org readers, but I believe that an alliance with iFeminism.com will give us a degree of credibility in certain situations that we might not be able to obtain otherwise. The fact that they call themselves feminists could even work in our favor sometimes.

Wendy has also successfully broken into the mainstream media, something that I've been working on for Mensactivism.org but haven't managed to do yet. Wendy has a weekly article on Fox News' web site, which has served as in incredible public platform for her ideas and advocacy for women's and men's rights.

There are also many people who believe in equality that have shied away from the men's movement due to misperceptions about us (i.e, that we're a bunch of angry white males, woman haters, etc). This alliance would help to break down these prejudices and misperceptions, and bring us some new members and friends. The women's movement couldn't have succeeded without the support of men, and the support of women is also needed in the men's movement. While I strongly believe that men should have male-only groups to go to and bond in, Mensactivism.org has always been an open forum and has included female activists from the start. I will consider creating additional resources (such as a mailing list) just for men if people would find this useful and a way to create some extra space for men to speak their minds.

What's in it for them?

Well, again, I think it's credibility, but from a different perspective. Since iFeminism has already got its "foot in the door" of the media, so to speak, this would give them additional leverage so they could claim they are truly advocating gender equality and fairness. I also believe that there are many people in the iFeminist movement that simply want to join forces with more men so that they can get more done.

You're going to consort with feminists?? You traitor!

I really hope that by the end of this article you're not still thinking this. I can understand it as an initial reaction, because I think the term "feminism" has some strong negative connotations, often for valid reasons. But if we focus only on words and not what is behind them, we will not make any progress as a movement. As far as I'm concerned, iFeminism really isn't feminism. It's simply a group of women and men who believe in equality but have decided to focus mostly (but not exclusively) on women's issues. Wendy and I have set up some pretty clear boundaries for this alliance to ensure that neither side can co-opt the other's web site or editorial slant, and I think these and other ground rules will help preserve each movement but also allow for joint efforts that will benefit us all.

So now it's your turn to express your thoughts on this matter. I promise to take each and every one into consideration. I will not delete any comments posted in this section, so please be open and honest with your views (and use the Anonymous User account if you wish). I have told Wendy that I am very interested in this alliance, but I have not promised her anything yet.

Also, note that for this Wednesday, 10/17, we will be discussing this alliance for our on-line chat. I've invited Wendy to participate and she has agreed to answer questions related to this partnership, so please consider stopping by to meet Wendy "in person," so to speak.

This looks like a "win-win" situation to me. What do you think?

NOTICE: This story was migrated from the old software that used to run Mensactivism.org. Unfortunately, user comments did not get included in the migration. However, you may view a copy of the original story, with comments, at the following link:

http://news.mensactivism.org/articles/01/10/17/0025251.shtml