No, no, no… If we are ever going to have equality between the sexes, we have to have both sexes understanding, complying, and fighting for such equality. You are right, just because a man is for women’s rights does not mean he is a Feminist. Or does it?…
Pro-feminism: persons who support the cause of Feminism, but do not explicitly state they are apart of the Feminist movement or are Feminists. This term is often associated with men who support gender equality by way of political activism for women’s rights and violence against women.
My father for example is a Pro-feminist. He would never in a million years say he is a Feminist. But, when it comes to his daughter’s rights he’s all about me having a better life, more choices, and higher pay- and he’ll do anything to ensure this.
However, some heterosexual males and males of the Queer community do consider themselves as Feminists and explicitly state that they are. These types of men generate discourse within academic classes rendering philosophical, political, and cultural debates of where the women’s movement stands, where it has been, and where it could potentially go.
Men are much needed in the Women’s Movement. How can one sex ever accomplish equality when the other sex is standing over there and not next to women?
This Mythbustin’ Monday is not to convert male readers, or is it? What it is implying is that there are men who explicitly and implicitly admit to being apart of the Feminist movement. The Women’s Movement has an open-door policy where anyone and everyone are welcome. And, though the 3rd Wave of Feminism truly pisses me off, our blog is a perfect example of the different kinds of voices within Feminism. Some of our voices contradict, but ultimately, regardless of our approaches, backgrounds, sexual orientations, and sexes, we have an end goal in mind. Equality. And, all are welcome to join.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
I’m glad you brought this up, and hopefully I’ve been dispelling some of this myth as well. I think, or maybe just hope, a lot of men are feminists, but don’t realize it yet. I know I never called myself a feminist until a few years ago, but only because I thought it was a title reserved for women. I think that while part of it is sort of a natural assumption, since men may feel that they have any business talking about struggles they don’t experience. But I think a large part of why many men don’t think they can be feminists is a result of propaganda, in general. Men are conditioned to envision Feminism as frothing with animosity towards all men, regardless of what this or that individual man actually says, does, and believes. Through the liberation of others, we liberate ourselves though!
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Cheers!
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I like this post a lot. I was really happy when we had our first in person meeting for the blog because there were men and women present. I think if feminism were really like the stereotype of a bunch of women sitting around whining about men, it would be sad and counterproductive because that kind of exclusion will only reverse the current climate and push oppression in the other direction (instead of working towards equality). I think a good example of all sexes working towards equality is the current protesting in Yemen. Several articles have interviewed male protestors in response to female protestors efforts. Many of them are in full support of all Yemeni’s efforts towards equality and have claimed that it is a necessary condition for successful democratic transition.
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Oh, Yemen is a great case! Thanks for bringing this up! Of course, with Yemen and North Africa right now, they are experiencing much uprise and retaliation, where violence, protests are widespread. We all know this. But the women’s movement there is explicit and extrovert- as it should be. In contrast, right now here in the US (because some would say we’ve had our extroverted protests and uproars back in the 1960s) we are not so out there. Therefore, to several individuals it appears as if the Women’s Movement died out. And these individuals would most likely say the same thing about the Civil Rights Movements. The only really ‘explicit’ ones out there are the ‘Queer Movement’ and ‘Occupy Wall Street’ or ‘Tea Party Movement.’ So, the Women’s Movement is left with many individuals believing there is not longer such a movement, and consequentially, believe that equality has been made. Which, we all know is false. So, to generate another movement which is a bit nosier than how it is right now, is what is needed. Not an angered, or volatile movement, but just something with a higher pitch. And, then have men join this movement, this 4th time around. Where it truly is all inclusive, taking the ideologies of all 3 waves, with all groups, even of the movements spoken above.
Pretty much what I am saying, its time for another wave of feminism. 3rd wave, to me, had brilliant, necessary, and important intensions, but it scattered feminism and feminists- to become no longer a unified front.
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I really appreciate this post. I think it’s always good to bust the myth that men can’t be feminist because it is so important to have them as allies, and to teach everyone that feminism is not just about women because inequality holds us all back. I am wondering, though, why the 3rd wave pisses you off? Not that I mean to be confrontational, I just like to hear other feminists’ views on the various waves, the the 3rd does seem to be a point of contention among many people.
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Hi femistorian!
Looking back at the 1st and 2nd wave of feminism, they were predominantly (well, lets be real) fully about about white women. And, one could even say it was centered around white middle classed women. I understand, and when I say I understand I mean I completely and utterly understand, the necessity, the importance in having the 3rd wave of feminism. Where all voices, backgrounds, and issues are addressed and heard. Too many individuals have been silenced for too long, and its their human right to be heard and be attended to. The issue I have with the 3rd wave feminism is just this, that I believe feminism has been divided more so than given the time to address the issues of each group. Racism, classism, and homophobia lurk around each corner of our patriarchal system. But society has made these issues appear as if they’ve been handled, that they’ve been resolved, but ultimately as you and I both know, they haven’t. I am not naive and ha, am certainly not an optimist. Rather, I am a realist and with that, I still believe in there being a unified front somewhere in existence today though implicitly (with all of our contradictions and opposing fundamental ideologies), and that some day, maybe when the world ends, that there will be an unified front explicitly. But right now, that explicit unified front in feminism does not exist.
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I totally agree that the 3rd wave was (and in some ways still is) incredibly divisive. I think that it came at an odd time in history (especially given the 80s backlash and the rise of the moral majority) when everyone felt a need to be heard immediately. But in some ways I think it was good because it gave minorities a greater voice in feminism. And (as a huge Kathleen Hanna fan) I appreciate the very raw anger of the rrrriot girl movement. Because I come from a very working-class background, their raw anger mirrors my own and I feel gives a voice to people like me who may have found feminism inaccessible because of it’s dominance by upperclass white women. But I wholeheartedly agree that not enough time was given to address each issue. I think that’s the beauty of what’s becoming “forth” wave feminism. We seem to have found some ways of coming together across the intersections of race, class, and gender and working together to further ourselves, especially with the use of the internet. You should check out Shelby Knox’s blog http://shelbyknox.tumblr.com/ She’s a big proponent of “forth” wave and you’d probably really like her.
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Hey girl! Thanks so much! I’ll definitely check out that blog! Yeah and to be honest, I never heard of the ‘forth’ wave idea. I really dig it! Actually, I genuinely love the play on the words!! And, the beauty of feminism, and the idea behind my myth bustin’ post is that really, all are welcome. All who are there for their own reasons, all with different background and need an outlet. But behind all of our approaches and methods, we ultimately have an end goal!
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