April 10, 2006

Can Men Be Called Feminists?

There has been a discussion going on in the blogoshpere about men being called feminists. Are men who believe in feminist principals feminist or pro-feminists? Or can they use the term at all? Chris over at Creek Running North speaks to this when he writes:

I read Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua’s This Bridge Called My Back the year it was published, and found it invaluable in understanding a part of American culture I had until then missed. Were I to call myself a Chicana as a result of my poltical support, I would be laughed out of the planning meeting. I have been marching in Pride Parades for a quarter century, and had mainly gay friends in college for a decade before that. Even with broadening definition of the term, calling myself a “Queer activist� would almost certainly raise eyebrows. I cut my political eyeteeth working on the defense of the Attica prison riot defendants. That does not make me a Black Power activist.

My goal is to be the best ally to feminists I can be, in the political realm and in the much more difficult personal realm.

But I cannot call myself a feminist: the label is not mine to claim.

Ampersand at Alas, A Blog, has a thoughtful overview and a response to this discussion.

via Alas, A Blog - Should Men Be Called Feminists?

Posted by Russell at April 10, 2006 12:32 PM

Comments

Post a comment