The feminist movement in modern society is gaining more and more popularity every day. In this regard, debatable questions arise, the consideration of which is necessary for understanding the concepts and concepts of movement. One of these issues is the controversial topic of whether men should defend women’s rights in the same way as feminist women do. The most important aspect of this problem is men gaining an understanding of what the female sex is fighting for and what is the essence of their actions. However, feminism is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that includes many different aspects. This work aims to support the controversial point of view that men have the right to participate in the feminist movement as they can bring more benefit to it.
First of all, it is necessary to gain an understanding of what feminism is. At this stage of the development of society, feminism has acquired two concepts that differ in essence, the distinction of which is critically important. Thus, one of the types of feminism is that this movement can only be about women and for women. Hence, for a relatively large part of people, feminism has become a movement that can improve the lives of women. This aspect concerns political, social, economic, and other spheres of human activity (Delmar, 2018). Since men and their rights become the part of the confrontation, their participation can cause outrage and indignation. Some representatives of the feminist movement may express apparent dissatisfaction with this fact.
The opposite understanding of feminism is to understand it as providing gender equality and justice. It also includes all spheres of society and aims to fight against patriarchy. Therefore, feminism becomes a tool for combating the system that has developed in modern society, which negatively affects and suppresses the rights of women (Srinivasan, 2021). In this case, the participation of the male population can only bring benefit to the movement and lead to a greater spread of awareness and the achievement of more effective results. Thus, depending on how people understand the fundamental essence of the feminist movement, they perceive male participation in the struggle for women’s rights differently.
When considering the issue of who can participate in the feminist movement, many questions arise. Consequently, for example, is everyone who wants to support women’s rights to become a feminist, or is specific criteria necessary for this? Do they include the direct presence of characteristics of the female sex or the experience of neglecting women? Can the men whom feminists are fighting for equality of rights become a full-fledged part of the movement?
These doubts arise due to the fact that some people are of the opinion that because of their privileged position, men cannot fully understand all the difficulties that women face. Research shows that activist Brian Klocke said, “although I believe that men can be pro-feminist and anti-sexist, I do not believe we can be feminists in the strictest sense of the word in today’s society (Gussoni, 2020, para. 2). This is due to the fact that the majority of male representatives throughout their lives have never faced the traumatic experience of discrimination in society, which women still face to this day. Moreover, many women prefer not to have them as their supporters, as some, becoming activists, want to take leadership positions. This circumstance becomes an example of the fact that men prevail in society and supports the stereotype that women cannot hold managerial positions, which only ruins the feminist movement.
On the other hand, more and more people are of the opinion that supporters of the feminist movement should not be excluded just because of what gender they belong to. Thus, in the course of the history of the development of the initiative for the introduction of equality in the rights of the sexes in all spheres of society, many men took part and took the side of the protesting side. The most striking examples include William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, James Mott, Frederick Douglass, and Henry B. Blackwell (Quanquin, 2021). All these men have made a unique contribution to giving women the right to hold leadership positions in organizations and have the opportunity to participate in elections. Thus, this information supports the side of the debate that men can be participants in the feminist movement.
Therefore, this research paper considered a controversial topic about whether men should take part in the feminist movement. This is a debatable issue, as many feminists believe that their participation is impossible due to the fact that they are part of a patriarchal society that suppresses women’s rights. Moreover, they cannot fully understand the problems and discrimination faced by the female sex. On the other hand, quite a large number of activists believe that all people can promote the movement, regardless of what gender they belong to. This is supported by multiple examples of male feminists who fought to balance the rights of both sexes. Considering both sides of this controversial issue becomes valuable for understanding in which direction the feminist movement should develop.
References
Delmar, Rosalind. 2018. Theorizing Feminism. London: Routledge.
Gussoni, Dahiana. 2021. “Men Can’t Be Feminist.” SHEQUALITY, Web.
Quanquin, Hélène. 2021. Men in the American Women’s Rights Movement, 1830-1890. London: Routledge.
Srinivasan, Amia. 2021. The Right to Sex: The Sunday Times Bestseller. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.