The Male Feminist

Yesterday the college where I work ran a sticker campaign with the slogan "This is what a feminist looks like". I proudly wore a sticker on my hat (where else would I put it?!?) all day. When I left campus I forgot that it was up there and I went to meeting for my fraternity. My brothers immediately questioned why I had the sticker. I didn't actually offer an explanation but, instead, defended my security in my manhood.
"yeah I'm wearing the sticker! Wanna make something of it?"
I thought nothin of it until a new Brother, Stephen, suggested I blog about it. At first, I didn't think there was anything to blog about but this morning I agreed with Stephen. There is an interesting dynamic there.


When men support women's causes it's under the pretense that it somehow weakens their gender to do so and therefor they have to state their dominant stature along with it. We see the "man enough to wear pink" type campaigns and it suggests that in order to support that cause, I have to REAFFIRM my gender binary. A more honest answer to the question as to why I was wearing the sticker would have been that "yes I am a feminist" and own the status. Instead I reminded my Brothers that I am still as much of a man as they are. It is as if being a feminist make me less of a man. I happen to believe that a) you can be a feminist and a man b) doing so doesn't weakness my stature in the realm of men and finally c) it makes me a stronger man for my wife and daughter. The truth of the matter is that stronger women make stronger men and make weaker men irrelevant.


So at the same time that I was proud to wear the sticker, I was not at the point to OUTWARDLY expound my belief. It just shows that we have a way to go.


These are my thoughts....what are yours.