In the new Trump era and the bizarre trend of ‘meninism’ (seriously, you couldn’t just let us have our thing?!), I truly don’t blame women for having a chip on their shoulder when it comes to the male species. But feminism is about equality, not superiority of either gender, after all. So we can’t forget the fairer of the other sex that are doing what all men should be doing (and many are, even if not so overtly), in supporting feminism.
It’s worth noting that the internet generally seems to get very overexcited about any man that expresses any sentiment towards gender equality, and jumps on the feminism buzzword, which other than being slightly lazy journalism is a sad representation of how difficult it is to find famous men that will proudly label themselves feminists.
I have to say I have real issue with some (please take note of this word) SOME self-proclaimed male feminists. I can’t help but *cough* publicity stunt *cough* when I see celebrities like Benedict Cumberbatch throwing around sweeping statements about gender equality in a ‘This is what a feminist looks like’ t-shirt and getting heralded as feminist icons for it. The reality is that many men are feminists, without labelling themselves as such – some without even really knowing it. From my own personal experience and my perception of men in the media, some men who overtly declare themselves feminists sometimes use their apparent awareness of the feminist cause as an excuse for their inherently sexist behaviour. They think that because they consider themselves feminists, any not-quite-ok-attitudes that manifest into I’m-really-uncomfortable-with-what-you-just-did actions couldn’t possibly be sexism. I will admit that this is probably subconscious, and of course this is only my personal perception and experience, but I strongly believe this true for some people.
Of course, we need men to set an example to other men, and I’m entirely happy that men such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt are helping to reduce the stigma around the ‘f’ word, I am also aware of how incredibly picky I sound. I just think that we should be getting much more excited about men whose actions are feminist, who lead quietly feminist lives, and appreciating the men who we know do that – rather than considering any celebrity who is willing to give himself the omgsodarncontroversial feminist image a ‘hero’. Men need feminist role models just as much as women – just as feminism ultimately benefits both men and women. We should really look beyond shallow words and labels so we can consider real actions when we’re thinking about who we should be looking up to and offering our respect.