Why I Am A Male Feminist by justtracey

And I wonder: we (women) all have fathers and brothers and boy friends that we might know or trust, and all men are fathers or brothers or friends that can be known and trusted- so why are we always so afraid?

Is it because we've all expericenced a kind of sexual assault -on any level- why would men do that to us? Why do they forget about their mothers, their sisters, their girl friends? How do they?

“The following day, I attended a workshop about preventing gender violence, facilitated by Katz. There, he posed a question to all of the men in the room: “Men, what things do you do to protect yourself from being raped or sexually assaulted?”

Not one man, including myself, could quickly answer the question. Finally, one man raised his hand and said, “Nothing.” Then Katz asked the women, “What things do you do to protect yourself from being raped or sexually assaulted?” Nearly all of the women in the room raised their hand. One by one, each woman testified:

“I don’t make eye contact with men when I walk down the street,” said one.

“I don’t put my drink down at parties,” said another.

“I use the buddy system when I go to parties".

“I cross the street when I see a group of guys walking in my direction."
“I use my keys as a potential weapon.”
The women went on for several minutes, until their side of the blackboard was completely filled with responses. The men’s side of the blackboard was blank. I was stunned. I had never heard a group of women say these things before. I thought about all of the women in my life — including my mother, sister and girlfriend — and realized that I had a lot to learn about gender.” 

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Why I Am A Male Feminist Posted on June 15, 2011 by justtracey