Filed under: Feminism
Is it possible for a man to be a feminist? Yes and No. Let me point out on the outset that I’m not posing this question simplistically, but really to hash out some of the complexities of this problem. I cannot and do not promise to resolve the issue, but this is hopefully the beginning of a process of understanding.
Firstly, the reason I bring this up. I only just learned about the Kyle Payne story day before yesterday (Here’s a reminder to not miss out on my reading Feministe for longer than a week!). So Payne is a blogger apparently well-known for his feminist activism. Specifically, he describes himself as “an advocate for survivors of sexual violence and other forms of abuse,” with an interest in the feminist anti-pornography movement. Now here’s the shocker: last year, while Payne served as an R.A. at his college, he assaulted an intoxicated and unconscious female student in the dorm under his care. And, get this, he also filmed/photographed the girl in the process. If that sounds hypocritical for an anti-porn activist, that’s because it is!
Now, I don’t want to discuss Kyle Payne per se, because the feminist blogosphere has been doing so already. For starters, you can see this post by Cara at Feministe. What I do want to discuss, and what I have been thinking about since yesterday, are the implications of this story and some of the questions it raises. Do Kyle Payne’s actions constitute a damnation of all pro-feminist men? Certainly not. But that’s not the end of the story either. After all, there are reasons why there are stereotypes of male feminist allies as “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (more…)
