Can men REALLY be feminists?

Boys say leave the Lad Bible alone – it’s those scary man-hating feminists that put them off. They can’t be right, surely…

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“To be a man and call yourself a feminist is to align yourself with a man-bashing, man-ridiculing, man-loathing cause.”

This is the unfortunate assumption among many men who say they are reluctant to join feminist causes because they worry about the reception they will get from women, rather than potential ridicule from their own male peer group.

Yes, “lad culture” remains a decisive obstacle to men calling themselves feminists, but it’s not the sole reason.

The Lad Bible’s guide to the ‘Best girls of Instagram’ – female objectification at its prime.

“A bunch of bullies”

I spoke with a number of male students for this article and the most common reason for not actively supporting feminist causes was the perceived “extremism” (or at least excessive zeal) of female feminists. While most believe feminist campaigning is essential and lots call themselves a feminist in theory, few eagerly turn this into active support.

Commenting on the Intersectional Feminist Society at King’s College London, one student gave a typical view. He labelled the group “hard-core” and “militant”, and admitted to being “afraid” of the leadership. He said: “They’re intimidating as fuck, a bunch of bullies who isolate the masses. I definitely don’t want to be associated with that.”

Intersectional feminism supports the intermingling of historically oppressed minority groups, whether due to sexual orientation, class, race or other factors. However, it’s this broad approach that some students disagree with.

The logo for KCL iFemSoc, a group which aims to foster an environment in which “everyone should be comfortable sharing ideas.” Boys included?

“No right to be there”

In the case of KCL’s iFemSoc, the intersectional approach is criticised as going too far in the opposite direction, excluding those who cannot identify with a clear minority group. One student said, “My friend used to go to Fem Soc but, because she isn’t from an ethnic minority group and doesn’t identify with a minority sexuality group, she was made to feel like she had no right to be there.”

When I asked how this sense of exclusion may apply specifically to men, the same student admitted: “I doubt the heterosexual, cisgendered, white British male would feel comfortable at KCL Fem Soc.”

Through discussion with a broad range of students who have experienced KCL Fem Soc, it transpires this “aggressive culture” is what isolates students the most – both men and women. The society is accused of getting sidetracked by issues of race and sexuality, which, although incredibly important, exclude some students and remove the focus from promoting female equality across the board.

The sense of exclusion is felt most among male members who are already on the periphery of the cause. Will Jellis said: “When I look at some posts by feminists in various public forums I can’t help but feel that some take the word feminism and use it as an opportunity to unconstructively attack males and, most frequently, middle-class white males. This makes many men feel like it’s a cause they can’t be part of.”

The ‘I need feminism because…’ campaign promotes important racial, religious and sexual messages.

“Militancy is not a bad thing”

Defending herself against criticism of her radical stance, KCL Fem Soc President, Shanice McBean, said: “I have always found this charge of militancy in some senses funny. How you can call a group militant when a huge proportion of its activity is online is beyond me. However, militancy is not a bad thing – actually, I wish it were true that the society was militant and took more action. Lastly, it’d be a straw figure to put the negative aspects of Fem Soc down to alienation of men specifically.”

So, are men hiding behind the radicalism excuse, and is it actually “lad culture” and ignorance feeding their opposition to feminism?

“Observational not judgemental”

One hotly contested example of this peculiar “lad culture” is Women Who Eat on Tubes, a self-described “art movement” which at its peak boasted over 20,000 members. Toby Bruce-Jones, a London student who incidentally calls himself a feminist, defended the group, saying: “It isn’t bullying or sexist. I’ve been a member for a while now and, in any instances of victimisation, the perpetrator gets blocked immediately.”

WWEOT claims to remove “insensitive, offensive, abusive or unjustified comments or images” but it’s clearly a subjective issue.

“What started as an art project has mutated”

But when feminists objected to the group, users became increasingly aggressive and misogynistic, branding women “bints” and “witches”. In fact, criticism of the group transformed what may have begun as a light-hearted joke into a platform for men that use “militant feminism” as an excuse to be misogynist. Tony Burke, the group’s founder, conceded this on Radio 4’s Today programme: “What started as an art project has mutated under the toxic radiation of the global media’s sensationalist gaze.”

Viewed in those terms, the objection that feminists are man-hating radicals looks more like a defence mechanism than a fair criticism.

Apparently snapping girls eating apples is a form of entertainment.

“Radicalism as a scapegoat to justify fear”

WWEOT is a beacon of the lad cult that shames men away from feminism and encourages them to jump on the chauvinistic bandwagon. In an article published on the Guardian, student blogger, Lewis Merryweather, condemned “lad culture” for negatively influencing male feminism. He sees “feminist” as an “empowering title” but one that far too many shy away from for fear of being emasculated. But what of feminist radicalism? Is this all just an excuse?

Tony Burke covers up for his Facebook profile pic – indicative of a value for privacy that perhaps he should apply to others.

Merryweather said:

“I think the problem at the crux of this whole thing is that the media misrepresents feminism. The general public is never really given direct access to the equality seeking feminist movement – the majority of the feminist movement. The media realises it’s only radicalism that interests and makes money. As for the excuse that the radical elements of a movement are good enough to refute a whole ideology – that doesn’t cut it for me. Strands of radicalism exist in every movement. Men are mistakenly afraid they may lose power if they capitulate to a movement demanding rights for women and use radicalism as a scapegoat to justify their fear.”

National newspapers love to exploit the “raving feminist” stereotype.

“A silly term, which implies putting women in a position above men”

Yes, according to KCL student, Emilian Gega, feminism is “silly”. On elaboration, however, it isn’t feminism itself that Gega opposes, rather the term ‘feminist’ whose meaning some men feel has become warped, encouraging them to be outsiders to the cause.

Will Jellis helped explain these fears: “I can see how men can appear to be or feel like they are outside supporters of the feminist cause. There are many issues that men find difficult to fully understand simply due to the fact that they aren’t a woman. Furthermore, I think that confusion surrounding the objectives of the cause can dissuade men, and women actually, from feeling like they can be true supporters of the cause.”

Will Jellis (on the left) often supports feminist causes, identifying his passionately feminist, single mother as a key influence in his life.

“A massive image problem amongst men”

While there’s truth in blaming “lad culture” and radicalism for deterring men from being feminists, the issues of ignorance and misconception are profoundly influential.

Angus Wood from KCL commented that “A lot of people mistakenly assume women are already equal and so feminism is seen as an attempt to ‘get ahead’.” Worryingly, many men cannot recognise the need for feminism now that so many of them are surrounded by successful women in university, the workplace and other social environments.

Indeed, one male student argued that feminism “loses its raison d’être when equality is achieved”, implying the aim of feminist groups should be to preserve the rights so far achieved for women, rather than push for new ones. Yet, in many areas, equality between men and women hasn’t been achieved.

A pressing example of gender equality is the discrepancies between male and female pay. According to the Office for National Statistics, median hourly earnings of full-time men were £13.60, compared with £12.24 for women in 2013. The gap is narrowing, yet women working fulltime continue to earn 10% less than men.

Students at Birmingham University recently campaigned against gender pay discrepancies.

“If you’re a feminist, you’re a feminist, man or woman”

Many men questioned were unhappy to be singled out as ‘male’ in the feminist cause. Professor Will Brooker of Kingston University says, “I wouldn’t use the term ‘male feminism’. The cause is feminism, and I believe men can support it and be part of it to an extent. I don’t think the idea of men supporting and campaigning for feminism needs its own special label.”

Feminism is equality. Until equality between men and women is achieved, the need for feminism continues. And without male feminists, feminism risks living up to criticism that it’s one-sided, interested only in promoting female empowerment at the potential detriment of gender equality.

London student, Oren Lida, explained this by comparing feminism to minority civil rights campaigning: “the presence of external supporters can further legitimise the movement because support comes from more than just the ‘group’.”

Male feminism is therefore fundamental to breaking down negative feminist stereotyping and promoting modern feminism for what it is: an issue of gender equality. No more excuses, sexism is for pussies.

Men can be feminists too.