Huge Risk

I may seriously regret posting this. I'm not looking for a debate, I hate debates. This is just some thoughts and opinions I've been thinking about, spoke about with a student, and was advised to post. Might be a horrid idea, we shall see. Try to keep it civil folks.

Here's my main two points.

1. Feminism is not a feminin movement, it is (by effect) an human movement.
2. Men benefit greater from the feminist movement than women.

I'm totally calling someone "kitten" this week. 

Let's unpack those statement's right fast.

The first:
By redefining the gender roles of women, you allow (or force) a redefinition of gender roles for men. Gender roles are extremely important and violating them is severely punished by culture. The feminist movement changed how women defined femininity and by default (many, if not all) men had to redefine their masculinity. The main direction may be primarily toward women (that's arguable though), but the secondary effect is toward men. Because the feminist movement so dynamically impacts both genders, it is therefore not a feminine movement, but rather a human movement.

The second:
Men and women now have greater options in how they define their gender. Unlike men of previous generations (let's say the 1920s to the 1970s or so, but likely much more than that), I can decide to stay at home and care for kids, focus on work with little nurturing, or do both somehow. None of those roles overtly violates my gender role. Small groups may accept one over the other, but all can find acceptance and reward. I get to choose how I am rewarded by culture.

I feel a great swell of pity for men in the 20s who would have loved to be have the role of nurturer rather than authorial role. I can do both and I am rewarded greatly for it. My great-great grandfather would be ridiculed.

I need this shirt...and pipe. 

Women too can define their gender role as 'stay-at-home-mom', 'career woman', or both. But here is how men benefit more than women: If a woman chooses anything other than "both", they violate a gender role. While men can choose both, make it work, and suffer very little (if at all) for that choice, a woman who chooses to stay at home or make a career will be challenged. ("you're just a stay at home mom?", "you're just all about your career, don't you care for your family?"). Women must choose how to be punished by culture.

And here's the jacked up part. It's feminism itself that defines the woman's role of "both", and punishes those who do attempt anything else.

So, my point, if I have one, is that any man who doesn't support feminism is an idiot. Men "win" from feminism!

Alright kids, play nice.