The Role Boys Play in Feminism - male perspective

The role that we play within feminism, its advancement in particular, seems to be something of a disconcerting subject, and despite the fact there’s an endless stream of male-oriented opinion on the topic, time and again it’s aggressive and misguided. It often comes under the guise of being constructive, or an effort to present a ‘male perspective’ on the issue – what’s the need for that? When advocating for a greater female voice/presence in society or discussing the experiences and struggles faced by women, there isn’t any use for a male viewpoint. Our perspective of living in a patriarchal society, perpetuated and controlled by us, offers nothing to this aspect of the fight for equality. There are of course a myriad of issues surrounding masculinity in today’s climate that can play an important role in achieving gender equality, but too often they are used to counter aspects of feminism that are seen to be disagreeable - rather than being discussed as problems in their own right. This kind of embedded antagonism shrouds the sensitivity and significance of the issues and unnecessarily polarises people where there’s a desperate need for unification.

So why is it that so many men feel the need to make known their point of view when, such as in this case, it isn’t really required? Part of it is probably down to a deeply entrenched sense of hubris or self-importance exacerbated by living in a patriarchy – one which has existed since the birth of civilisation. A lot of men hold themselves and their opinion in very high regard, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the issue is that they often don’t attribute the same importance to the opinions of others – and women in particular. Having grown up surrounded by women I’ve both witnessed and been informed of the ways they’ve felt diminished and had their feelings trivialised by men failing to take them seriously. Though not always a conscious or malignant effort on the male part, it is emblematic of a failure to hold ourselves and others accountable for these kinds of actions. This is something that has to change.

The main point I want to make is that men need to listen to women more and attribute the same amount of significance to their feelings and sentiments as we do our own. We need to continue (or begin) to educate ourselves on feminism in both a personal (regarding women’s individual experiences) and broader, more comprehensive sense. For me, the role that men play in the advancement and advocation of the women’s rights movement is a modest but supportive one – we should be doing our best to further understand the struggles women face and hold those ignorant to them accountable. As I said previously, injecting a male perspective into the fight for a stronger female voice in a patriarchal society is nothing but counterproductive and we must learn that it’s often necessary to take a backseat. Don’t blindly criticize something you aren’t able to fully comprehend – listen to and understand, as much as you can, those affected and support their struggle for equality.