Can a man ever truly be a feminist Essay Example For Students

Can a man ever truly be a feminist? Essay The slashing of tyres has also been common particularly when coupled with death threats against prominent figures in the media and politics. In response more organised groups within the movement have attempted to increase public awareness surrounding these incidents stating that it is unclear whether it is the work of extremist individuals or what they deem real ‘masculists’. Feminist Literature The majority of feminist literature being written by women is just one example of the ridge between men and feminism. It is also notable that any literature surrounding feminism by men is often critical of it. The early 1960s saw writer such as Betty Frieden who wrote The Feminine Mystique (1963) which is widely regarded as triggering so-called Second Wave Feminism in the United States . In chapter two Frieden asserts that in many womens magazines the editorial responsibilities are often left to men, this lead to sharp spike in articles and stories that displayed women as either despondent housewives or unhappy career women, this in turn created what she called â€Å"the feminine mystique which is the notion that women were satisfied with playing the role of the doting wife and mother. She does however note this contrasts similar publication in the 1930s. At this time womens magazines generally highlighted self-assured and socially autonomous heroines, many of whom had career. An explanation for the change in presentation of women is a possible reaction to the increased threat (or perceived threat) of feminism, thus an attempt to protect the hierarchy that existed in 1960s US. Another notable feminist author is Judith Butler who wrote Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1989) in the late eighties. In the book Butler examines one of the more fundamental suggestions of feminism as a theory, essentially the assumption that there exists an identity and that it must be represented within the context of language and politics. In Butlers estimation, even the word woman (with its inherent roots being from the word man) can have negative connotations that are detrimental to the cause. She believes that identity itself is defined by a slew of categories such as sexuality, class, and ethnicity. Therefore, Butler seeks to abandon the politics of identity as an alternative she aims to promote a new version of feminism in which the idea of identity and gender is scrutinized closely. By the early nineties Feminist literature had evolved beyond its initial tentative strikes at the so called patriarchy. Backlash: The Undeclared War against American Women was written by Susan Faludi who argues that the emergence of media has accelerated the backlash to the feminist movement. She believes that this backlash instigated the womens liberation movement in the late eighties. Throughout the book Faludi presents evidence for an anti-feminist approach in the portrayal of women within Hollywood in the eighties; for instance the method used in television was that the roles for female actors appeared to change drastically as a response to feminism. Within the fashion industry this trend was mirrored, models swapped the business suits of the seventies for exploitative and impractical lingerie in the eighties. This decade also saw the prevalence and popularity of cosmetics, makeup and cosmetic surgery. Feminist literature has also crossed cultural lines with pieces such as And Who Will Make the Chapatis? by Bishakha Datta, an Indian author and filmmaker. The lack of male authors in this area indicates the resistance and scepticism towards male feminists within the feminist community. Integration (HeforShe) HeForShe is a campaign that strives for solidarity between the sexes in the journey for gender equality and it was founded by a group female UN members. Ultimately it works to afford men and boys the same voice as women within the feminist arena when debating equality. The biggest tool at the disposal of this campaign has been social media and the internet. On its website there is a global locator which regularly uploads the number of men and boys who pledged their support for the campaign, with the goal currently at one million by summer 2015. This an extremely positive approaches to gender equality as it seems the biggest hindrance to it has been the hostility between the sexes. On the website plans for social justice, civil society, and UN agencies can be found, making it much easier for people to feel they are making a direct and immediate impact regarding the betterment of society. An Inspector Calls Essay QuestionsHe asserts however, that this cannot happen until men change their attitudes towards other men as well as women, by choosing not to reinforce sexist attitudes towards either sex. This could mean that ‘menists’support women in feminism by allowing themselves to adopt feminist theory and in turn ending the patriarchy, which in turn works as a catalyst to liberate both genders from their restrictive, albeit, traditional roles. The language of feminist theory Any functional theory which aims to achieve social change should offer something for all parts of society. Theories which use elitist and alienating language will often not be easily accessible certain sub-groups of society, particularly those most in need of social justice. Therefore in order to reach those groups, a good ideology must contain several levels of language in order to communicate the message effectively. An example being that radical feminist often take an elitist stance on feminist theory by only making it possible for women to be involved with it, effectively making any male involvement impossible. It is therefore the responsibility of female feminists to allow for men to understand the language of the theory but also that of men to learn women’s text, and commit to understanding the language of the theory, in order to reach the goal of gender equality. Feminist authors but must also allow for a learning of socio-political experience from a feminist perspective. According to Allison Jagger, â€Å"men should also consult with feminist women when writing about feminist theory†. Jaggar also suggests that men must also offer support for more feminist authorship in order to legitimise feminism to both male and female critics. In particular, men must attempt to â€Å"engage with feminist theory and practice†. In my estimation, the only way to achieve complete gender equality is through the full cooperation of both sexes. Women must work to allow men to be part of the conversation, and for men to engage with feminism without, firstly, dominating the dialogue and secondly, resisting the threatening perception many of them have about women. Despite this, I do agree with many, that although men can never truly be feminists, they are able to assist the struggle in eliminating the patriarchy. 4554 words   http://www. michaelmessner. org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/changing-men. pdf Carrigan, T. , R. W. Connell, and J. Lee. 1985. ‘Toward a new sociology of masculinity. ’ Messner, Michael A. (1998). ‘†The Limits of the Male Sex Role: An Analysis of the Mens Liberation and Mens Rights Movements Discourse’ Harry Brod, To Be a Man, or Not to be a Man — That Is the Feminist Question, Men Doing Feminism p. 197-212 Cockburn, C. 1983. Brothers: â€Å"Male dominance and technological change. † Mirsky, Seth. Three Arguments for the Elimination of Masculinity. Mens Bodies, Mens Gods: Male Identities in a (Post-) Christian Culture, p. 27-39. http://www. academia. edu/1622459/Men_and_Feminism_Some_Challenges_and_a_Partial_Response Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics (2000) Glick, Peter; Fiske, Susan T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality p. 109 stavvers. wordpress. com/2011/04/26/ambivalent-sexism-research-into-attitudes-towards-women Glick, Peter; Fiske, Susan T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality Christensen, Ferrell (1995). Ted Honderich, The Oxford Companion to Philosophy Melissa Blais and Francis Dupuis-Deri. Masculinism and the Antifeminist Countermovement. p. 21–39. Friedan, Betty (1963). The Happy Housewife Heroine. The Feminine Mystique. Butler, Judith (1999). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Faludi, Susan (1992). Backlash: the undeclared war against women Gender and Governance in Rural Services: Insights from India, Ghana and Ethiopia Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2006). Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature McDonald, Soraya Nadia (22 September 2014). Emma Watson: Feminism too often is seen as ‘man-hating’. http://site. nomas. org/roles-of-men-with-feminism-and-feminist-theory/ hooks, bell. 1992. Men in Feminist Struggle The Necessary Movement, in Women Respond to the Men’s Movement Jaggar, Alison. 1988. â€Å"Feminst Politics and Human Nature† Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our University Degree Gender Studies section. ;