Wednesday, July 4, 2007

MALE FEMINISM.

We all have heard of FEMINISM. We all know what it is all about. Well.. just for the sake of introduction... Feminism alludes to that theory which speaks for the rights of a female. The feminist theory developed majorly in ENGLAND in the 20th century. Its precursor in England was the ever famous fiction writer VIRGINIA WOLF. Feminism voices the emotions and aspirations of the subverted female in the society. It reverts the authority of patriarchy and establishes new rules for itself and for the betterment of the suppressed woman. Before the 20th century, it was MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT in the 18th century England who voiced and defended the subverted sex. However, Feminism has come a long way. Now it has been established as a permanent discourse of studies to assess the development of a society. Many theories have sprung from it, like Lesbianism, Homosexuality and Gay Literature, Queer Theory etc. But one of its fields fascinate me the most. That is, MALE FEMINISM. Its not as complicated an issue as it seems by its name but its quite amusing though, as men have always tried to suppress the females in the society. Yet, a concept like Male Feminism exists.This article revisits the issue of male experience and its possible relationship to gender politics. Traditionally, feminism has viewed male experience as representing a bar to the development of feminist knowledge and consciousness. This conceptualization of male experience continues to inform the contemporary debate on male feminism. I would like to argue that this experiential bar emerges from a theorization of male experience as singular, fixed, and organic. Challenging this conceptualization, the article retheorizes male experience as a diverse, shifting, and contested category that produces different political outcomes. Through an analysis of men’s group discourse,I would like to illustrate how particular interpretations of male experience produce both feminist and antifeminist effects. Further, Feminism examines male experience as a multifaceted category that can act as the material upon which male feminist resistance operates. Feminist studies debunk the idea of a female figure created by a male centered viewpoint.Hence, it creates and forster a cultural feminist world of its own.

Coming back to Male Feminism, this movement consists of pro feminist modern men who feel synpathetic towards Feminism. Pro Feminist men seek to add thier voices to feminism and advocate change by men in thier gender relations, social political and institutional structures. Pro Feminists campaign against violence against women and sexism. There have been many famous works on Pro Feminism including Stoltenberg's "refusing to be a man". Pro Feminists believe in an egalitarian society and believe that women suffer from inequalities in the society while men recieve various forms of power and priviledge. Masculinity is oppressive to women and social changes are to be made in this direction.

Why i find this theory amusing is that although it supports feminists yet, it is as flawed as the feminist thoery itself. The biases that exist within the feminist world are on the basis of caste, race, color, creed etc while there is substancial diversity and disagreement in the pro feminist perspectives.While men are also harmed of the societal gender relations, some men emphasize the priviledge recieved by virtue of bieng men in a patriarchal or a male dominated society. Some go to the extent of accusing both men and women constricted of the gender rules.

However, it is terribly diificult to be a non biased thinker but the extent to which i have tried i can now say.. that some of the male feminists are right! We females are so much bound by those old assingned rules that half of the females have got used to it by now. They are not even aware of thier rights.. moreover, even if they are... they would not want to come out of thier husband's shadow..And what's more, hardly can one see, in today's world...one female supporting the other. There is an ongoing struggle within the feminist structure that we encounter even now when we women have established a room of our own. This would only lead an unbaised female like me to praise those men who support feminist ideals in their true spirit.. and this makes me an anti feminist too in a sense.
Male Feminists claim to be anti sexist, anti patriarchy, but not anti male. They see men with good potential and beleive that men must act to dismantle gender injustice.

I believe that truth comes out when all sides of the story are put together and the whole truth is what i am after! and according to me.. the truth is... that there is a genuine desire needed to build a society of men and women both, who first aim to amend the gaps and fissures that exist within feminist culture and secondly, encourage each other to live up by those ideals.