Including Men in Conversations Around Feminism
More often than not, when talking about the patriarchy we focus on its harmful effects on women. Since it's a system that’s based on providing men with power and keeping women from having any, it makes sense to see women as the primary victims of the patriarchy. What’s interesting, though, is that the system that men benefit from is also harming them at the same time.
For men to maintain supremacy in our society they have had to set behavioral standards for themselves leading to the creation of toxic masculinity.
Toxic masculinity dictates that for men to maintain their masculinity and their status as men, they need to behave within certain guidelines. These standards are considered toxic because they are unhealthy and often result in men causing harm to themselves or others.
Masculinity does not have to be toxic though. It can be redefined and attributed with positive behaviors instead of negative ones. So, masculinity is not inherently toxic, but much of what we chose to associate with it promotes toxic behaviors and mentalities.
I don’t often think about toxic masculinity because it is not something that I am directly affected by. My views on feminism are more centered around the oppression of women and queer people, and I less often view feminism as a movement that can also benefit men, because I don’t usually perceive them as victims of oppression. In reality, gender inequality has damaging effects on men too. While men do have a lot of privilege and are often more valued by society, they are also severely hurt by the standards society has set for them.
The excerpts we read from Liz Plank’s For the Love of Men reminded me of this fact and has encouraged me to think more about how men can be included in conversations around feminism and gender. I aim for my feminism to be intersectional, and for it to be that I think it has to include men.
Hi Zahraa, you made many great points in this blog post that I think all people that call themselves feminists need to consider before shutting others out of conversation. I really enjoy how you made the statement that " masculinity is not inherently toxic, but much of what we chose to associate with it promotes toxic behaviors and mentalities". I had never thought about how people who are not men and are striving to bring down toxic masculinity can also be contributing to toxic masculinity. It's very easy to neglect that toxic masculinity also affects men, and that even, in some cases, they can suffer more due to stigma around asking for help and having good support systems.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job explaining toxic masculinity in a succinct and clear manner. I also don't usually think about men when thinking about feminism but I agree that it is important to include them. both for their benefit and for the benefit of the movement. The more support, the more chance for success. I also think that supporting feminism requires a certain level of empathy for the struggles that people are dealing with and I think that increasing empathy is always a good thing so the more people feminism encompasses, the better.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading and discussing about For the Love of Men by Liz Plank (I don't know how to italicize in a comment), I hadn't really thought about how feminism could and should include men. I agree with you that in order for feminism to be intersectional, men must be included in the conversation, even though they don't face the same oppression that women and queer people face. I think its important to consider and talk about the effects on men when talking about toxic masculinity.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, I've definitely thought of feminism as a women's movement. However, after reading For the Love of Men, I think feminism can be about people generally being treated equitably and being educated about gendered expectations, especially toxic masculinity. I also agree with Bronwyn that the more people we can include in feminist movements, the better the change we can enact.
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