Men and Women – Equal before law and society? – by blogger Snehal Gajare

The term “Feminist” cannot be spelled correctly if you remove the alphabets “m”, ”e” and “n”. Its looks like “Feiist”. Likewise, the struggle for equality and empowerment of women cannot attain sublimity without the support of men. Yes, you read it right.  The words “feminist” and “men” can be conflated together to give rise to a new-age revolution that ponders the concept of gender equality. Shocked????? Don’t be.......... Constant exposure and encounters with the blogosphere, media maneuvers and the feminist activities have made it possible for a small population of men to accept this appellation of “male feminist’ or ‘feminist men’.

Patriarchy is like a monster that dwells in the society and gallops the rights and freedom of women by oppressing them. This is the probable reason why men actually bear the responsibility of smashing the patriarchal system prevailing in the society. I think men have to relate themselves to the challenges, oppression, disrespect and inequality that women face. This will help them to understand the text of feminist theory in an appropriate manner. A few suggestions can help men in fostering equality in their day to day life which in turn can be a massive contribution to the culture where women feel loved, respected and worthy of living a normal life.

1.       Give women the space that they need. Support them whenever and wherever needed.

2.       Help them in housework and participate actively in taking care of children.

3.       Remember, love, mutual respect and honesty will help your relation with your female partner bloom.

4.       Praising the accomplishments and virtues of your female partner can make her feel special and worthy.

5.       Ensure that you inject feminism while conversing with your male friends and never treat your spouse disrespectfully.

6.       Never be a bystander in cases of sexism online. Object sexist tweets, posts on the internet. If you encounter a situation where a woman is subjected to sexism, you can always lend a helping hand.

7.       Remember, your children look upon you as a role model. So, it is you who has to imbibe the virtues of equality, respect and dignity in your kids. You don’t want your son to be a male chauvinist and be termed so by the rest of the world.

8.       You can also join protests against sexual assaults, Remember sexual assault is not a woman issue. Even men are subjected to sexual assault. Sexual assault is itself grave offense.

9.       Objectifying women and considering her as a prey in the quest for entitlement depicts the weakness of a man and is not a sign of masculinity.

This is not an exhaustive list. There will surely be many add-ons. I hope these few pointers can help men understand their role in the process of liberalization of women. The main purpose of this article is to encourage men to be pro-feminism and be a support system to their female counterparts in battling their struggle for equality.

"Fathers Set Examples" by blogger Allisyn from Pitzer College

It was the Cameron Crowe film Singles (1992) that originally taught my father how to lead by example in regards to respect for women, or for anyone really. The female protagonist, Janet, bemoans that all she wants in a romantic partner is someone that will say “bless you” when she sneezes. It seems that chivalry, even in the simplest forms of common courtesy, has been somewhat lost. My father recognized this after watching Singles the year I was born, just in time to teach me, through his actions rather than words, that I deserve someone who says “bless you” when I sneeze. He always holds the door open for me, gives explanations when I ask for one, communicates everything to me so I am never lost or confused.

A father can teach his children respect for women by doing, not just telling. He must treat his daughters the way he feels other men should treat them. For his sons, he must respect the women surrounding them, their mother, their sisters, their aunts, their grandmother. Throughout a lifetime, children will learn from their fathers the basics of the most common respect. From there, as they mature, as life becomes more complex, they will build upon the base of respect and gain the morality it takes to be a respectful romantic partner. Girls will know not to romanticize the idea of sex to the point where they feel it is their sole purpose, and boys will realize that women have just as much power over their sexual encounters as they do.

Thanks to my father, a humble and respectful man, I knew what it feel like to be respected as a woman and as a human being at a young age. Now that I am a grown woman, I know what I deserve, and I know how to fundamentally respect others as they respect me. The older I get, the further the bounds of respect move past a simple “bless you.”

Male Participation in the Feminist Movement! By Jade

In the world today men make up a little less than half of the population.  They participate in every aspect of society.  They are life partners, supporters, teachers, and competitors of women.  They also hold a different perspective on society, inherently gained from growing up in the world as a man. 

When my interest in Women’s Rights started to grow while I was attending my first Women’s Studies class in college, I found it odd at first that men were in favor of feminism.  It seemed they were contradicting their own existence.  I believe now it was my lack of knowledge and understanding of feminism, to say the least I was a naive sophomore in college.

It did not take me long, with the help of my teacher, and fellow students (especially the male ones) that the suppression of women is everybody’s problem not just a woman’s.   The men we learned about in class and the men in my class understood there was a gap between how men and women are treated in society and were willing to participate in a movement that aims to close this gap. It only makes sense that the support of the other half of society could only strengthen the feminist movement. 

I think the first step in men participating in the new wave of feminism is to acknowledge women.  It seems simple, but we are different from men we typically have different emotions that we show stronger than men; we also have different strengths and weakness’ than men.  These differences do not make us the weaker sex.  If men acknowledge that we are different but equal this is an excellent step in the feminist movement. 

    I also think supporting women in her ideals, ideas, and opinions are other excellent ways to participate.  Women can be restricted from attaining her goals if the men in her life do not support her dreams and aspirations.  If a woman wanted to attend college but, grew up in society where most of her peers did not attend college, the woman is more likely to attend if those around her including men support her in her decision.   It seems that ideas and opinions grow stronger if those closest to you are supporting them. 

Active participation in the feminist movement is excellent as well.  It could mean men providing information on the feminist movement in casual conversation or on a larger scale.  Also companies providing equal pay for equal work can help.  Men can also participate in walks, protest, and join in and support on the congressional level. 

For me I am really excited to be living at time where change seems to be happening at an incredible rate.  The idea of a women president is a reality! This is amazing! As we forge forward in the feminist movement it is important to look back at how far our fore-mothers have come, and how much further we need to go. It is also an excellent feeling to know that there are men willing to join this moment with us.

We're Not All That Different by Benedictine University blogger Karly

It is hard for men to grasp. The way that women look at sexual assault is different from the way that men look at it, but it should not be that way. There are many ways that men can participate in the movement of feminism that is occurring today.

First off, men should educate themselves. If they do not know what the new wave of feminism means then they will not be able to help spread the movement. Feminism can mean many different things; some of those things may even have a negative feel to them. But that is only because those people who see feminism as a negative thing fail to truly understand why it is so important. Women have fought so hard to just have the same privileges that men do. So you would think that men would want to know a little bit more about the reasons behind this movement.

After men understand what the new wave of feminism means, they can get involved by supporting groups that women lead and are passionate about. Many men may feel like they cannot understand what feminism is because they are men and will never have the same view that us women do. To an extent, this is true but that does not mean they can’t try to get involved and help out the movement. One day we can see how true equality between men and women can work. An example of something that men might see differently than women is sexual assault at colleges. Because the majority of the sexual assaults that occur on campuses are men attacking women, the issue comes off as being the woman’s one. However, that is an issue in itself. Male dominance continues to play a big role in sexual assaults. Society tends to feel bad for the women that get attacked and no one ever thinks twice about blaming the man who attacked her because he was dominate in the situation and she was helpless. I am not saying that it is going to be easy to change or at least for a second open the eyes of those who cannot see the issue that lives within sexual assaults. However if men are willing to try to understand, that is already a step in the right direction.

Male students should be educated on women issues by blogger Veronica

With an increase of on campus rapes, there should be a quicker decision for the male population on school campuses to be aware of their female counterpart’s issues, for example, concerning self defense and admissions for help. More and more sexual assaults are occurring almost daily that many male students do not feel threatened by it. Males threatened? There is a lack of educating the male students to helping those helpless female students, especially if they are good friends with them.

Many men trip on their own pride and feel that they have done enough for the female students, eventually not doing enough to stopping rape from occurring or helping to spread the ideas of independence and feminism in public, Not to say all male students do not do their part, but it seems obvious that many sexual assaults occur because no one chooses to step up to prevent them.

The idea of not getting involved is the worst thing possible, since many rape victims become too afraid to come forward with their stories or are afraid to reach out to anyone willing to lend a hand or listen. Many rape victims feel passed over and feel there is a major backlash.

The female student body is driven to ending sexual assaults on school campuses, but it takes more than them to ending it. There needs to be a push for all male students to prevent a tragedy from happening before it happens, like escorting their female friends to their car after their night class ends or even protecting them during the day. There needs to be a big show of attention done to all those female students that feel lost or alone. Who knows there might be lesser crimes? a better and safer campus?



All males in society should be attentive to why the opposite sex is so afraid of rape and why it should be an issue to talk about instead of it being swept under the rug, like some sort of insult on a college’s reputation or popularity. It takes a brave voice to change everything. To give a voice to the voiceless and mean business!