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Seattle Shakur

Professor Laursen

Global Citizenship

9 December 2016

Feminism for Men

Recently, feminism has been portrayed in the media as a bunch of women saying how

much they hate men and wish that men did not exist. When men see these portrayals, they want

nothing to do with the feminist movement, thinking that all feminists believe this way. In all

actuality, only the minority feminist opinions and ideas are being shown in the media. A large

percent of feminists want equality for all genders, not for women to be greater than everyone. So,

by men taking a part in the feminist movement, they will receive help from the advances made in

gender equality.

Men are not equal to women in several ways that many do not even realize. A father's role

in their child's life is not seen as valuable in society (Watson). People always talk about how

important motherhood is and how moms make a big impression on their children. Fathers,

however, do not get much credit. Usually, when fatherhood is discussed, it is about how men are

not in their children's lives and how awesome single mothers are. Through the media never

seems to talk about how amazing single dads are at parenthood. Feminism will help fix this

problem, saying that both parents are a huge part of a child's success, not just the mother.

Another problem dealing with men and women's equality, is how men feel they cannot

express their emotions like women can (Watson). When a man expresses his emotions, people

emasculate him, making him feel like less of a man. This negatively affects the male population,

because it causes suicide rates to rise (Watson). Men feel like they cannot tell people what is
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going on inside their heads without being made fun of or looked down upon. They bottle their

feelings inside until they feel like the only way to escape these thoughts is to kill themselves.

Feminism will help lift this idea that men have to be strong at all times and can never express

emotions. It will be okay for men to show emotion and suicide rates among the male population

will decrease with equality.

Another upside for a male feminist is that, feminism helps overturn laws that discriminate

against men and benefit women. Before 1976, in Oklahoma, there was a law that prohibited men

from drinking before the age of 21, but allowed women to start drinking at age 18. This law was

made because men were thought to be more reckless and irresponsible than women (Plank). This

was a way to discriminate against men just because they were male. Women could be just as

irresponsible as the stereotypical male, but because of their gender, they were allowed to drink at

an earlier age. The feminist movement made it so, in 1976, this law was overturned. Women and

men now had the same age that they were legally allowed to start drinking alcohol at.

Like the situation above, the average man pays more for car insurance than the average

woman. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, women are less

likely than men to get into a car accident. So, in a car insurance provider's eyes, it is okay to raise

men's rates because they feel they are going to get in more car accidents and cost them more

money. Just because of the statistics, it is still not okay to raise a man's insurance cost because he

is a man. That is gender discrimination. Unlike the drinking law in Oklahoma, this discrimination

from insurance companies still has not been dealt with. Making genders equal in society will

help make it so men and women pay the same amount of money, no matter what they are buying.

Ultimately, feminism will help women and men in society. Men should join the feminist

movement so they can have equal rights to women and have a weight lifted off their shoulders.
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When a woman is discriminated against, it is made a big deal in the media, but discrimination

against men is okay. People never discuss how men are discriminated against, and it is important

to add this into the discussion when one talks about feminism. Gender equality is for everyone,

not just females.

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Works Cited

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. "We should all be feminists." Tedx. 29 April 2013.

Tedxtalks.ted.com. 1 December 2016.

Plank, Elizabeth. "23 ways feminism has made the world a better place for men."

Identities.Mic. 3 May 2014. Mic.com. 9 December 2016.

Watson, Emma. "Gender equality is your issue too." UN Women. 20 September 2014.

Unwomen.org. 8 December 2016.

Young, Cathy. "Feminists treat men badly. It's bad for feminism." The Washington Post. 30 June

2016. Washingtonpost.com. 8 December 2016.

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