Feminist Men

As we raised our hands in class when asked whether or not we would consider ourselves "feminist," Professor Pok went on to tell the story of how she converted her husband to the cause of feminism. While that may have come as a shock to the women of the class, it seems like the trend of male support is increasing.  Due to the nature of our patriarchal society, males who encourage equal rights are few and far between. However, are we that far removed from a society where men empathize with the plight of women? In this post, I am going to introduce two videos where men are taking a stance against the mistreatment of women in society today.

(Please beware that both videos contain vulgar language to emphasize viewpoints).

In this first video, "Rape Culture and Glenn Beck Doesn't Like Me," comedian Jamie Kilstein comically expresses his views on the culture of rape and the verbal abuse of women. Although he is uses comedy to speak out against women's rights violations, he still manages to establish the basic premise that rape of women is an unacceptable, societal ill.
Jamie's pro-feminism comes to fruition in the video at around 2:03, with the beginning of the video recounting an unimportant conflict that he had with Glenn Beck. Although that situation has no bearing on the rest of the video, it is vital to address that Glenn Beck is a notorious, right winged network producer. The argument between the comedian and conservative most likely occurred because their differing views, seeing as though Beck is the type of person who condemns the abortion of children who were conceived during rape.
At 2:03, Jamie talks about a recent interview that was aired on television. After going on a news channel and speaking out against rape, he received an abundance of death threats via social media outlets. Most of these threats, as he discusses, were from men. As Jamie continues his monologue, he explains the feedback he got as a result of his anti-rape sentiments. He then shifts the conversation by stating that it may be difficult for viewers to take his stance on rape seriously, since he is a male speaking on the issue. The tone of his piece shifts from a joking matter to an empathetic one, explaining that men will never understand what it is like to harbor the fear of being raped.
His next segment talks about an experience that he had with his wife where she was verbally harassed by a random man. Though story is told humorously, Jamie is using his platform as a "public speaker" to convey his disgust in the treatment of women by other men.
Jamie Kilstein is just one example of a male advocate of women's rights. He also encompasses a voice for other, feminist men who do not have the outlet from which to express their views. Not to say that he is the epitome of what we would expect a feminist male to be, and although he receives backlash for his support of women, he still successfully conveys his message.

This second video, "Sh*t Men Say to Men Who Say Sh*t to Women on the Street,"takes off where Jamie ended by addressing street harassment. As we have spoken about in class, it is nearly impossible for women to exist in public without receiving unwanted male attention. As it is called, "street harassment" is an unacceptable form of an attempt at flattery. Rather than boosting self esteem, these "cat calls," which solely acknowledge features of a woman's body, embarrass women. This video depicts a group of men who are not only standing up for women, but also urging men to stop presenting themselves in a manner that reflects badly on other males. The creator of the video wrote a piece on the video, explaining that "it is not always easy to hold ourselves accountable for our violence and our silence."However, he and his actors took a stand against the contemptuous, street harassment, hoping to better the every day experiences of women.

In class and on our blogs, we are sometimes inclined to portray men in a negative light as a result of their historical oppression of women. Although these are just two examples of men who support women's rights, we cannot assume that all men are misogynists. What are some other ways that men are showing their support for women and condemning sexist, non-feminist men?