When the average non-feminist thinks about feminists, who do they think of? Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Gloria Steinem, maybe even all the way back to Susan B. Anthony. What do all of these people have in common? They’re women. Recently, however, we’ve been starting to see men joining the modern feminist movement: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Aziz Ansari, Mark Ruffalo, and so on. Some people are asking, “Why?” The short and easy answer is that they support women and want everyone to have equal rights. While this is a completely acceptable and sufficient answer, it may not be thorough enough.
In the discussion surrounding feminism, patriarchy is often discussed, as well as its negative effects on women. Patriarchy, while its definition is debatable, is shortly and sweetly defined as a system of society in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. Looking at this definition alone, it’s fairly obvious why patriarchy might not be so awesome for women, but if we look closely enough, we can see how patriarchy might hurt men, and in turn, why men would benefit from feminism in a big way.
In a patriarchal society–the vast majority of the world– men are dominant and powerful, in addition to being physically and mentally strong. While this might not seem harmful, we see from a very young age how boys are pressured to be tough.
Boys, as children, are taught not to cry for any reason. Some young boys are taught that when they scrape their knee, they should rub some dirt in it, and “be a man.” This is a bad idea for about a million reasons, most obviously, this child more than likely is going to get an infection, but also because now this child knows that when he feels genuine physical or mental pain, he should be quiet about it. At the same time, his female classmate scrapes her knee and is given a bandage, neosporin, and a kiss on the forehead. This can be reflected in the adult lives of men in devastating ways. Men are expected to work more physically strenuous jobs, and ignore injuries when they happen, which can lead to serious health consequences.
Men are also expected to be mentally strong, to bottle up their emotions, and certainly avoid discussing mental illness. For example, as reported by RAINN.org, men are less likely to report sexual assault than women, which can leave men feeling alone, or “like less of a man,” which can lead to depression and anxiety. This has been known to lead to aggression, violence, and higher suicide rates among men.
The most frightening result of being raised within the context of patriarchy is that men feel the pressure to be powerful and dominant. This can mean anything from men degrading and putting women down, to catcalling in the streets, and to fighting with other men, but most importantly, it can mean being abusive, mentally, physically, and sexually. The way that some men feel as if they can deal with insecurities they’re told they can not have is to resort to violence. In May of 2014, we saw this happen at the University of California Santa Barbara, when a man, enraged after being rejected by women, shot and killed several members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority with the intent to “punish” women.
So what does this all have to do with feminism? Feminism tells men that they can have injuries, they can have emotions, and don’t always have to be dominant. Feminism attempts to break away from unrealistic expectations for men as much as it does for women. We’re all equal, and we’re all human beings.