{"id":1370,"date":"2011-11-16T12:44:40","date_gmt":"2011-11-16T20:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2011-11-20T12:25:16","modified_gmt":"2011-11-20T20:25:16","slug":"open-space-men-need-to-embrace-feminism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2011\/11\/16\/open-space-men-need-to-embrace-feminism\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Space<\/i>: Men need to embrace feminism"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1984, Gloria Watkins (pen name: bell hooks), influential feminist author and activist, famously stated that \u201cfeminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her book, Feminism Is for Everybody,<\/em> published 16 years later, Watkins wrote, \u201cI like this definition [of sexism<\/del> feminism] because it did not imply that men were the enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patriarchy was then, and is now, the enemy. Patriarchy is a social system where men hold authority over women, children, property, and other men. Patriarchy is damaging to society because it oppresses women, and limits men.<\/p>\n

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(Graphic by Jessica Tai.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Feminism developed as a way to combat patriarchy, but is often misunderstood by men.<\/p>\n

Men need to recognize that feminism is an avenue for men to explore and expand gender, sexuality, and positive non-sexist community involvement.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s vital that men also understand it\u2019s not the responsibility of women to engage men in the feminist movement; feminism is a movement that encompasses all ethnicities, genders, and sexualities. Men are responsible to engage men in non-sexist, non-oppressive action.<\/p>\n

In Victoria, there\u2019s already an established community of feminist\/LGBTQIA activists that may lead some to question how men are being represented. However, the existence of these communities isn\u2019t leaving men in the dust.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re doing what they\u2019ve always intended to do: empower women and promote a world free of patriarchy and sexist oppression. Spaces like women\u2019s centres exist to create a safe place where women and all genders\/sexualities can strengthen together.<\/p>\n

Victoria has seen some male interaction against patriarchy, such as a recent event called Men and Feminism<\/em> at Camas Books and Infoshop, but not enough. Victoria could benefit by gathering a group of men who already identify as feminists, and engage more men retroactively as the group expands.<\/p>\n

If men became more informed about the dangers of patriarchy, then critical steps could be taken towards allying with feminist\/LGBTQIA communities. Men could create a space for positive reinforcement in non-sexist lifestyle choices, and men could help redefine (or un-define) maleness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1984, Gloria Watkins (pen name: bell hooks), influential feminist author and activist, famously stated that \u201cfeminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.\u201d In her book, Feminism Is for Everybody, published 16 years later, Watkins wrote, \u201cI like this definition [of sexism feminism] because it did not imply that men were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-views","category-november-16-2011"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t