General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is it possible for a man to be a feminist? [View all]el_bryanto
(11,804 posts)I guess what I am driving at is participation. If you participate in a community or a neighborhood than you should be a part of that neighborhood discussion hopefully moving it forward. For example if I lived in a neighborhood called Neighborhood X, which was an integrated neighborhood, I would take part in the discussions within that neighborhood, some of which might hit on racial or LGBT or gender issues. I wouldn't be taking part in them as a white person per se, but as a citizen of neighborhood X.
As for larger communities - such as the black or gay community, in the abstract, I wouldn't presume to speak out on those issues - I guess when it comes to the community of woman in general, I wouldn't speak on that either - but listen.
That said I take the definition of feminism to be very broad - reaching up to such national and political issues, but down into familial relations and such. Feminism in this broadest definition has strong implications on how you would raise your daughter or son, how you treat your wife, how you treat woman around you, who makes decisions and how are those decisions made among friends. Patriarchal ways of looking at things can be part of society from Congress to the Board Room to the Chapel to the School Yard to the Home. And in so far as you are part of that subset, you should be part of that discussion, in my opinion.
That said, as I have said above, you are best off listening more than talking.
Bryant