Men and Feminism

Currently in my AP Language and Composition class, we have started off the second semester with gender issues and feminism. I had an intense dislike for my class, for all we did was learn the types of rhetoric, and attempt to write essays that analyzed rhetoric, that was used in some paragraph by some author, without really learning how to construct them properly. However, being a feminist, I have found some serious interest in this so called 'unit'.

For an assignment, we had to choose an article that relates to the topic of gender issues, write a short summary about it, and make a case to pitch to our classmates of why they should choose to read this particular article. I wanted to look at gender issues from a feminist standpoint, and searched for some articles on the internet. I found a lot of publications and began to skim a few, but found that they contained a lot of bias. I finally found one that fit what I viewed as perfect.

After this discovery, I began to think about the other articles I came across. Skimming them, they seemed to be fairly biased and specific about men haters and not to cave in and submit to patriarchy. I don't think that is feminism. It's being a feminazi. I also noticed they were mostly written by women, which I expected. But what about a man's point of view?

I chose to read one more article to make the pitch perfect. Without much effort and a few keywords, I searched for a short essay article published by a male who was a feminist. I found Can Men Really Be Feminists? by Noah Berlatsky from the Atlantic. He wrote about how most men are viewed as misogynistic when it comes to feminism and such, but it's really more than females. It's male rights too. It's always been about what being a man is defined as. I like how he talks about the women's issues regarding feminism, like the definition of femininity and being treated differently, but he also discusses the fact that men, if they act anything like a girl or thy don't act tough, then they end up being pushed around, being called names, and being treated differently. He brought this up with the example of the movie, Sixteen Candles, which I liked.

Berlatsky also touched base on rape and men. Men are treated differently when it comes to rape, whether they have been raped or they are accused of it. Misogyny tells men, especially men, that they shouldn't let anyone rape them and to be a man when it comes down to the situation. The way he explained the situations of rape concerning women and contrasting it against men and their situations was rather interesting, and I found his claim, that men can be feminists and that misogyny affects every gender, very convincing. Being a feminist, it appeals to me for I advocate for these things and ideas, and am fought every day for what I stand for.

Overall, I believe his article was fantastic and spoke to things that needed to be addressed. It really appealed to me and my own beliefs and experiences, and speaks to the issues about men regarding sexual assault and insults that come with being feminine. Having men constantly criticized for this particular issue in society is ridiculous, and having some awareness about it is excellent. It is always okay for a man to be himself and he shouldn't be criticized for what he does. I stand and endorse his claim.

Reading this article can help open up some minds to feminism. Most people see it as attacking men, hate against men, and fighting the patriarchy. While yes, it is about fighting patriarchy, it doesn't hate on men and social issues involving them. Most people only pay attention to the feminists, who are also referred to as femininazi's, who are super extreme, while in actuality, feminism advocates for doing what you want, and not what you feel society is forcing you to do.