"Where Have All the Feminist Men Gone?"

Submitted by Mastodon on Sat, 2013-03-16 20:13

Article here. Excerpt:

'Where have all the feminist men gone? Every gender studies course I took in college was made up of a diverse crowd of women. Almost every sexuality, race, and age group seemed to be represented, yet even at a small liberal arts school we were lucky if there were two men in the class. This continues to perplex me.

When I speak to my male friends about whether they consider themselves feminists many often say yes. Behind closed doors men will candidly speak about their pro-women opinions, their comfort with and attraction to women who are bossy or challenging, and how they abhor other men who seek to limit female power. But do these men blog, take classes, attend rallies, or otherwise make public their opinions when it comes to gender issues? Of course there are always exceptions, but my experience has typically been: no they do not. This makes me certain that there still remains a strong taboo against those who occupy male bodies voicing support for women and opinions on their complex experiences in this country.'

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... your friends aren't really "feminists". You might be. You might think you are, or may actually be. That's fine for you. Unfortunate, but fine if it's what floats your boat.

Actually what most men are who get confronted with questions like "Do you support a woman's right to choose?" or "Do you support affirmative action for women?" or "Do you think men can stop raping women?" and so on think about first and foremost is, "Why the hell are you pestering me with 'Have you stopped eating kittens for breakfast?'-type questions and how fast can I get rid of you?". They are thinking this for the same reason a woman would think a similar thing if she were asked by another woman such questions as "Do you support reproductive rights for men?", "Do you support affirmative action that places women into dangerous and dirty job roles like combat and construction even if it must be done by force of law?" or "Do you think women can stop falsely-accusing men of rape or committing paternity fraud?"

They are probably telling you what they think you want to hear just to placate you and not run afoul of the PC Brigade, of which you obviously have close ties (otherwise, why would you be haranguing them even in private?). Alas, today's younger generation of men have been raised in a culture of such hostility toward men's interests and issues and have been so immediately attacked for veering an iota off the feminist party line via the stern ideological discipline of feminized schools that really, they dare not speak, even to their peers, their honest opinions about the nutsery and injustice they see in front of them daily, never mind to one who seems to have so thoroughly drunk the Kool-Aid.

Really, can you blame them?

Jordan, if you were a male friend of mine, I'd de-friend you post-haste just to eliminate the regular interrogation sessions. (You might otherwise be a nice guy, but that doesn't give you permission or allows for indulging your third-degree treatment ways.) And I imagine your "male friends" probably endeavor to spend as little time around you as possible. (I'm sorry if this is the case, but you make your bed...)

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Submitted by Matt on Sat, 2013-03-16 23:09

Jordan, how many men's rights activities do you participate in?

You say: "From politicians to cable news hosts to religious leaders, most men seem to have absolutely no problem with dismissing the ongoing struggle women face in the workplace, sexual assault, and access to affordable birth control."

I don't believe women are struggling in the workforce, I have read many news articles that say otherwise and have seen for myself that there is no truth to this. Besides there are many government incentives such as free money offered only for female business owners. If you believe women do the same work for less, then just get some of the free money and start your own business and just hire women. With women doing the same work as men for less, you should be able to beat the competition by 25%. Every company in the world would only hire women for the discounted labor if there was any truth to feminist's claim of women *doing the same work* for less than men.

Sexual assault is not gender specific to women. More reports are coming out suggesting male sexual assault is underreported and occurs more often then previously thought. My conversations with male victims seems to support this, yet only women have special policies to help them access care and counseling and convicted women of sexual assault only get a slap on the wrist. Policies and punishments about sexual assault should be gender neutral, don't you think?

female to male sexual assault is even laughable on national TV:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muuFygvXPAM

And AFFORDABLE birth control does not seem good enough for feminists, they want FREE birth control. How about health issues that only effect men or vasectomies, shouldn't they be free as well than? and look at how men are portrayed in TV and in commercials, they are portrayed as incompetent imbeciles while mothers are portrayed as the common-sense and fully capable parent.

If you want fair treatment for women, then I support you in your quest, but not if you believe women are victimized and oppressed more than men or need special legislation and policies that are not offered to men. You may need to join a men's right group to get more exposed to the problems men face.

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Submitted by Kris on Sun, 2013-03-17 01:54