Homens Feministas

Há quem ache que ser feminista é odiar os homens. Há quem ache que o feminismo só traz problemas aos homens. E há quem ache (posição que subscrevo) que os homens são muito prejudicados pelo sexismo, tal como as mulheres, e que portanto também têm muito a ganhar com a crítica ao sexismo e a luta por uma sociedade mais igualitária.

De facto, as regras sociais sobre "o que é um homem" e "o que é que um homem pode/deve/consegue fazer" sujeitam os homens a uma pressão constante para provar que são "homens a sério" e limitam significativamente as suas escolhas, oportunidades e direitos. Além disso, a ideia de que as mulheres têm mais jeito do que os homens para certas coisas (por exemplo, tomar conta de crianças) faz com que estes sejam frequentemente discriminados no acesso a determinadas profissões (por exemplo, educador de infância).
Por outro lado, há homens que são contra as violações dos direitos das mulheres (como a violência doméstica) e que desejam contribuir para a sua erradicação, nomeadamente sensibilizando outros homens para estes problemas - acreditam que para haver mudança é preciso mobilizar não só as mulheres mas também os homens.

É por isso que cada vez há mais homens que se assumem como feministas - tendência que é analisada nesta reportagem de Natalie Hanman, publicada esta semana no jornal inglês Guardian.

Male feminists march on
Natalie Hanman - The Guardian

Over the years, that elusive figure - the male feminist - has often been regarded with suspicion by his contemporaries, male and female alike. In fact, it has sometimes been thought that any man who dared to get involved with the feminist movement was either intrinsically self-hating or just looking for sex.

But pro-feminist men have begun to crop up in the unlikeliest places. From labourers on building sites, to coppers, nightclub bouncers and footballers, male feminists have been asserting their support for women, railing against sexism, challenging domestic violence and encouraging their more laddish peers to change their ways.

Colm Dempsey, for instance, a police officer in Ireland, became so convinced of the need for men to combat the culture of male violence against women that he collected 365 anti-domestic violence posters from around the world, and is currently showing them in Belfast. The exhibition, which highlights some shocking statistics - every 20 seconds a woman is the victim of domestic violence in the UK, two are killed as a result of domestic violence every week - will also tour.

"The best compliment I have yet received is to be referred to as a male feminist," says Dempsey. "It's vital for women to see that there are men committed to women's rights."

While he is challenging the stereotype of sexist police officers, the Considerate Constructor's Scheme is working to transform the sexist image of a whole industry: the building trade. The scheme is a voluntary code of practice that states that those signed up to it must ensure there is no lewd language or behaviour on site. There are more than 3,500 sites adhering to the code - since its launch nine years ago, more than 18,000 have signed up.

Edward Hardy, general manager of the scheme, says: "As part of being a considerate constructor, you shouldn't have chaps hanging off scaffolding and whistling at girls. But it's also [about] inappropriate calendars and so on."

The original pro-feminist men's movement, which emerged in the US, the UK and Australia in the late 60s and early 70s, grew out of the progressive left's frustration with traditional masculinity. In Britain the movement was driven by anarchic publications such as the Men's Anti-sexism Newsletter (Man) and Achilles Heel. (...) But while some criticised pro-feminist men for being, well, not man enough, the irony was that it was exactly the macho stereotype that the movement originally set out to challenge.

"Now," argues Michael Kimmel, a US academic and spokesman for the National Organisation for Men Against Sexism, "groups such as Amnesty and Oxfam - the heirs to the pro-feminist men's groups in the 60s and 70s - are also developing projects around men and masculinity, because we have found that gender equality is not going to be possible without men."

To underline this point, Amnesty International (UK) and Womankind (UK) recently hosted conferences that explored how to involve men in combating sexism and male violence against women. They brought together organisations as diverse as Men Can Stop Rape, an American campaign group co-founded by John Stoltenberg, Andrea Dworkin's widower, and Unison. The focus was on engaging men, not demonising them. As one of the speakers said, male violence against women is not just "a women's issue" - it affects everyone.

This belief inspired Chris Green to launch the UK arm of the international White Ribbon campaign two years ago. This pro-feminist organisation was set up in Canada by men for men who wanted to take more responsibility for reducing male violence against women. "I'm interested in how the phrase 'pro-feminist' is used and I like it to be used quite carefully," says Green. "I go back many years and when men in those days said, 'Oh yes, I'm a feminist too!' you would potentially get run out of town. But that was 20 years ago and attitudes have changed."

Kimmel agrees: "In the 70s and 80s, pro-feminist men were either viewed as hating being men or as just trying to get laid. I don't feel that any longer, I don't feel that kind of resistance."

The most positive aspect of all this is that pro-feminist men's groups are able to reach many people traditional feminism has failed to connect with. For instance, last November 25 - the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women - the White Ribbon campaign handed out some of its anti-violence merchandise. Among the many men who wore white ribbons on the day, or near to it, were Rafael Benitez, the manager of Liverpool FC, Newcastle manager Graeme Souness and a nightclub doorman in Huddersfield who wanted to do something about the street harassment of women he sees each night.

But can a man ever really be a feminist? Some say it is inappropriate for men to call themselves feminists, arguing that feminism is a movement developed by and for women, and that men can never really understand what it is like to be a woman. Furthermore, critics claim that by jumping on the feminism bandwagon, men could eventually dominate the movement.

Organisations such as Oxfam, however, think the risks of involving men are far outweighed by the benefits. Its Gender Equality and Men project, launched in 2002, has incorporated men into work on issues as diverse as reproductive and sexual health, fatherhood and poverty reduction.

Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, isn't surprised. "Things are changing very fast. Increasingly, men see that the lives women are trying to build - balancing work and family - are lives that they want to lead too."

And given that, what man wouldn't want to call himself pro-feminist?
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