How Feminism Helps Men

Feminism is a controversial word in today’s times. Some are eager to embrace it, others promptly reject it because they feel like it is synonymous to “crazy” bra-burning movements or refrain from it as it is assumed to be an extreme ideology. In reality, feminism is nothing more than equality of the sexes. It is as simple as signifying a world where the two genders live in peace, love and harmony.

Feminism is not a deleterious word. It has been misused, misinterpreted and misunderstood. The dictionary of Merriam-Webster defines feminism as the “theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” It’s akin to saying the two genders are fighting a common battle and together will create a world where stereotypes and rigid mindsets will be defeated. A world where discrimination will no longer be the predominant guiding force – this is what feminism hopes to achieve. Historically and traditionally, feminism has been considered a tool that serves only women, primarily because it has been interpreted as such. There are debates within feminism over whether or not men can be feminists. A prominent figure of the feminism movement, Simone de Beauvoir in her seminal text, ‘The Second Sex’, argued that men cannot be feminists because of the intrinsic differences between the sexes. But feminism has evolved a lot since then. It has become more inclusive and embraces masculine perspectives instead of rejecting them. Today, women and men cook side-by-side in the kitchen and this is an example of inclusive feminism.

Breaking stereotypes

Feminism helps to break stereotypes and collapses the rigid code of conduct for men. It says that men don’t need to be hyper-masculine and macho, at all times. We put men in those convenient boxes, indexed by our old biases. Some of them, it must be said, belong to those boxes, deservedly, their psychology conditioned by their sociology.