Privilige Is Not A Pie
Mr. Shakes explains how feminism benefits men, why some men, even men who like individual feminsts, are wary of feminism, and why they're silly:
The last 50 years have seen an incredible, historic change in the role that women play in the family, in the workplace, and in society as a whole. Their opportunities have expanded exponentially-the invention of the pill, the feminist movement, the acceptance of women in higher education, a wider set of expectations and greater freedom. It’s certainly not all perfect, but it’s gotten a lot better. During this time, men have struggled to redefine their own role in society, which has left modern men often feeling listless and without self-worth. That is not to say that they have any right to feel this way; it is simply to say that it is. The only reaction that predominated in any discernible way has been one of hostility toward the feminist movement, from the overt sexism of anti-choicers to the condescending sneering so often witnessed even in men who define themselves as progressive. Feminism is widely regarded as having somehow stripped men of their own status in society. There have been no real attempts to create a new set of values to which men can aspire that is not either a regressive traditionalism dressed up in family values or a petulant and pointless negativity toward the success that the feminist movement has had.
One of the greatest bulwarks against men accepting the feminist movement is that they seem to think that women gaining power must necessarily dilute their own exclusive powers and status. But in so holding onto this erroneous notion, they forget that they themselves are powerless in the face of the corporate plutocracy that now weighs down so heavily upon all of us. If they could get their heads around the fact that they too are powerless and insignificant and ignored, they would stop trying to beat up on the kids they perceive to be weaker and instead acknowledge their own weakness, ally themselves with them, and move forward with them in a new movement that would grant greater freedoms for all of us. It shouldn’t be about trying to maintain some illusory advantage over others. It should be about trying to create concrete advantages for all of us.
If men were smart, they wouldn’t fight against feminism. They would embrace it for what it really is: Humanism. (And stop fretting over whether the term “feminism” is exclusory; its principles aren’t.) They would incorporate the principles of all civil rights movements and collaborate with their proponents on the genesis of a vast humanist movement. Instead of feeling threatened by or put upon by these movements, instead of feeling they somehow denigrate straight, white men’s lives or their ability to be who they are, men would apply these ideas in an effort to improve their own lives, along with everyone else’s. What we need to do is confer all the rights and privileges that these men have traditionally enjoyed upon everyone else, and then, once we’ve done that, we can start thinking about what new rights, obligations, responsibilities we can confer on everyone, in order to make our society a more egalitarian and fair place to live.
It's not like pie. We don't get less equality when we extend equal rights to everyone.
The last 50 years have seen an incredible, historic change in the role that women play in the family, in the workplace, and in society as a whole. Their opportunities have expanded exponentially-the invention of the pill, the feminist movement, the acceptance of women in higher education, a wider set of expectations and greater freedom. It’s certainly not all perfect, but it’s gotten a lot better. During this time, men have struggled to redefine their own role in society, which has left modern men often feeling listless and without self-worth. That is not to say that they have any right to feel this way; it is simply to say that it is. The only reaction that predominated in any discernible way has been one of hostility toward the feminist movement, from the overt sexism of anti-choicers to the condescending sneering so often witnessed even in men who define themselves as progressive. Feminism is widely regarded as having somehow stripped men of their own status in society. There have been no real attempts to create a new set of values to which men can aspire that is not either a regressive traditionalism dressed up in family values or a petulant and pointless negativity toward the success that the feminist movement has had.
One of the greatest bulwarks against men accepting the feminist movement is that they seem to think that women gaining power must necessarily dilute their own exclusive powers and status. But in so holding onto this erroneous notion, they forget that they themselves are powerless in the face of the corporate plutocracy that now weighs down so heavily upon all of us. If they could get their heads around the fact that they too are powerless and insignificant and ignored, they would stop trying to beat up on the kids they perceive to be weaker and instead acknowledge their own weakness, ally themselves with them, and move forward with them in a new movement that would grant greater freedoms for all of us. It shouldn’t be about trying to maintain some illusory advantage over others. It should be about trying to create concrete advantages for all of us.
If men were smart, they wouldn’t fight against feminism. They would embrace it for what it really is: Humanism. (And stop fretting over whether the term “feminism” is exclusory; its principles aren’t.) They would incorporate the principles of all civil rights movements and collaborate with their proponents on the genesis of a vast humanist movement. Instead of feeling threatened by or put upon by these movements, instead of feeling they somehow denigrate straight, white men’s lives or their ability to be who they are, men would apply these ideas in an effort to improve their own lives, along with everyone else’s. What we need to do is confer all the rights and privileges that these men have traditionally enjoyed upon everyone else, and then, once we’ve done that, we can start thinking about what new rights, obligations, responsibilities we can confer on everyone, in order to make our society a more egalitarian and fair place to live.
It's not like pie. We don't get less equality when we extend equal rights to everyone.