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Setting the Stage: Congratulations, you're a male feminist

rayj's picture

Tumblr discussion about congratulating men for being feminist, and the problems/possibilities in that. 

Original post HERE

Some Responses HERE

Irony of reblogging HERE

Comments

pejordan's picture

A New Word?

The conversations we've had in class about whether or not we need a new word for feminism made me start thinking a lot about if being a male feminist is even possible, and the problems that come from the word. I think that the word "feminist" automatically pits women against men, and if we look at what bell hooks is saying about feminism really being a movement to end all sexism, should we try to include rights for men who are being discriminated against as well? As I saw in the Kimmel piece, many men are uncomfortable in the patriarchal society we live in. I find the word "feminism" exclusive for multiple reasons, one of which being that I think it implies that there are only two genders. If we want to expand the variety of people for whom feminism is trying to gain equality, then maybe we need to expand the scope of the word itself. Changing definitions can only go so far--I think in order to make feminism more accessible, the word needs a radical change.

FrigginSushi's picture

More

Here's the Buzzfeed for more picture posts similar to rayl's. It's also really interesting to look at the comments.