What qualifies a man to talk about an issue like feminism?

Male Feminism
(Now With Wandering Metaphors!)

I'm a man.

However, that didn't stop Meg from inviting me to contribute to this feminist blog. My initial thought was if I was qualified to talk on the topic at all. It's not that I don't have ideas about feminism, or of its related modern battles. I've just always felt like it was good that the evolving dialog on feminism wasn't being refereed by men, and more importantly many women were creating new platforms to spread ideas (as opposed to being granted them by men).

I have been blogging for a few years now, and posting in forums for several more years than that. Often these digital marketplaces are my muse, and offer me an opportunity to hash out my ideas. It's kind of like a rough draft of sorts. It is then no surprise that when I was invited to write here and didn't know what to write about or what I could write about, I ran to the forums to ask.

Many people thought I should write about second person views of feminism. I after all have a sister and a mother; women's issues affect those that I care about. Others thought that I should non-dimentionalize the topic and write about inclusion in general. The idea here was that all of the things women are wanting are in some form things that we all want; human things. I received a minority of replies that basically demonized feminism and portrayed it as being the same as chauvinism, only it is the promotion of women above men.

The responses weren't the best at offering me a topic, but they did tell me one thing, It was okay for me to sit at the table. The only topic that came to mind was the original question: What can I talk about? Perhaps, my apprehension is not about what I can, but what I should talk about.

I'll just come out pistols blazing and polished clean (cause they've never been used). I'll just bypass that first hurdle now: I'm not talking about the right to speak on the topic. I have the right, and I'm not interested in unnecessary detour on free speech. Now that we've got that out of the way, I should charter a path of topics. The method that first comes to mind is topics that begin with little to no female interaction and gradually increase to male/female integration, and finally to topics that women overtake men in a battle of interest.

In the shallowest of waters male feminism must exist where there are no females present at all. Men socializing with other men or while by themselves have are faces with an abundance of women's issues. How men field those issues can say a lot about how we contribute positively or negatively. Music, film, literature, pornography and other popular forms of media and it's consumption exist here. The example I'll give (but won't labor on about) is women's sports. This year, the USA men's soccer team went all the way to the finals in the FIFA Confederations Cup! It was like nothing we've ever done before. Now, on the road to the 2010 World Cup, there is a nice buzz on the team that the Europeans refer to as "no longer an appetizer." Pretty great huh? It was being talked about as the US's serious debut into the competitive world of futbol, but was it? some might be surprised to learn that in women's soccer, the USA has been the definitive team for over a decade. So tell me then... Okay, I said I wouldn't labor on, but there is something there to talked about.

Moving on. About waist deep in the pool of feminism is where most men show either comfort or want to head back to shore. This level of interaction is probably the largest and contains topics ranging from workplace interactions, friendship, dating, sex, marriage, and all sorts of other interactions. At this depth, we see men socializing directly with women. The ways men contribute positively and negatively are mostly based on communication. Dating, most immediately comes to mind here for me. The words "hierarchy" and "roles" come to mind but don't find themselves worked into sentences so easily. Does a man seek an equal relationship? What does a man do if he finds himself in a relationship where he is not equal (be him the dominant or recessive partner)? More topics, I think a man can talk about.

At the point where the water is over a man's head, is there anything left that he can talk about in the pool of feminism (I didn't intentionally start that metaphor, but I ran with it)? Once our toes can't touch the bottom anymore, can I man have anything to share on things like child birth, rape, abortion, and other major topics? Is empathy enough for a man to keep from sinking at this depth? We'll find out, and if the water gets rough, maybe somebody here will throw me a life preserver.

I hope as I continue to write here that I am able to offer something worth reading and potentially original. I don't take it lightly that I was invited to write here, and I feels like an positive affirmation that I've done well advocating equality. I do not come well read in the literature of classical or modern feminism. I'm just a guy who thinks and writes. As long as my input is welcome, I will try to give my best.


~Chi