I use to believe/think that men could be feminists

[ismnotwasm]

83. Ok

I haven't opened that other thread in GD. I understand the viewpoints of the women who say men cannot totally share a women's experience, it goes beyond biological gender and into internalized life experiences. There are women who don't much care if a man self identifies as a feminist, but we have learned to be wary of the differences between claimed labels and action. I think what is being pointed out is a male feminist, or ally sits in the often unacknowledged sexual privilege of a patriarchal society.

Now, I want to be fair. I'm a heterosexual white feminist. I don't share the experience of a Gay Feminist from Brazil, say. There used to be something called 'standpoint' theory, coined by white middle class feminists. It said just by the shared experience of being female in this patriarchy our experiences would be the same. That was one of the biggest mistakes of feminism IMO, and it failed.

But the life experiences of males and females everywhere are quite different. Personally, I think owning the label is fine as long as its understood its a woman's movement. But men tend to shy away the more aware they become and often drop 'feminist' for male ally. Because men have issues as well. And strong movements of there own that can work in tandem with feminism.

I'll be very glad when things are less gendered but they are, and there you go.