next_to_normal: (feminazi)
next_to_normal ([personal profile] next_to_normal) wrote2010-07-31 07:23 pm
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Male Feminists?

So, the other day, [livejournal.com profile] gabrielleabelle made a post questioning the labeling of Angel as a feminist icon. The general consensus, not surprisingly, is that Angel is NOT the feminist icon we are looking for. But it did make me wonder - are there ANY male feminist icons in popular culture? I can't think of any.

Okay. "Icon" is a pretty high bar. How about just a portrayal of a male feminist character? Any medium. How many can you think of?

I'm also including [livejournal.com profile] gingerwall's list of criteria from the same post, just for reference. Your criteria may be different (I expect the third one is particularly difficult to find in pop culture, which might eliminate everybody, lol), but I thought it might be helpful for people who want guidelines.

Here would be my qualifications for the Best Male Feminist Role Model in All of Everything Ever:
- Let the women in his life be autonomous agents and make their own decisions.
- Listen to and carefully consider what women have to say about issues that affect both of them.
- Be aware of how organizations that he is a part of contribute to the oppression of the women in his life and work to change or protest those cultures, all the while getting feedback from those women to make sure he is accurately reflecting their lived experience.
- Encourage the women in his life to defy traditional gender roles and take on powerful positions, even at the expense of his own control and power.

[identity profile] eilowyn.livejournal.com 2010-08-01 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
I was really just trying to find a better word than "icon." I tried something somewhat analogous to "gay ally," and Emmie pointed out that it is a better term, but still flawed. So we can go simply with "feminist," and leave it at that, though it should be noted that there still is some privilege that makes it harder for men to recognize all the flaws in the system and to be considered feminists themselves. It was only acknowledgement of this privilege that led me to the word "ally," not some inherent belief that equality isn't possible, or some complimentarian mentality when it comes to equality.