"Men who want to support women in our struggle for freedom and justice should understand that it is not terrifically important to us that they learn to cry; it is important to us that they stop the crimes of violence against us."Andrea Dworkin...................................................Wo men's work in the movement is different than male's work. While we have to educate ourselves and be there in solidarity and friendship it is clear that our sisters don't need us to do the things that they are more than qualified to do and for which they have already created an infrastructure and a methodology. Women do not really expect us to help heal the rifts dividing Women, for example (these rifts which are caused by patriarchy (us)in the first place), to be theorists, in short to become involved in the aspects of feminist discourse that we do not belong in. We have different jobs on the practical level Our job is to help empower Women, and their job is to EMPOWER themselves. Some of the things that we can do, they cannot do, which are: *Work on changing ourselves and our concept of "manhood". *Work to remove the demand for pornography and prostitution. Pledge to not be "consumers". *Pledge and *act* to eradicate rape. *Pledge and *act* to eradicate DV and all forms of violence against Women and kids. * To learn to listen and to try to *not* do things which get in the way of Women realizing their full potential, by doing the things that we are so accustumed to doing, like allways trying to lead the show, allways pushing out 'ideas" on to them, such as religion, patriarchal political perspectives, personaly crowding them in a social-emotional context, etc. *Do our share of housework, (and childcare when relationships with children are involved). *Support feminism as males,because since as males we have unfortunately more agency than our sisters, our united voices will help to change the perception of males from thinking "oh those are the guys that are allied with those crazy manhaters" to 'those guys are part of that political movement that espouses those politics".Like anything else involving social change, coordinating of action always works best with a disciplined group that is specialized and as our job is different, then it is logical that we rally males to do that job.
THIS IS A SITE FOR MALES WHO IDENTIFY WITH RADICAL FEMINISMThere are guys here ranging in age from 17 to their mid 50s. Most of us share the desire to begin to learn to unlearn the harmful things that patriarchy has taught us and to begin to create a caucus that adds our voices in unison to this movement. I know that some of us are going to be a little scared. I know i am a little scared, because I have wanted this for so long, and only now, with the advent of the Internet has it been possible to even think of gathering like-minded males in one place to begin to organize. To the guys I would like to say, fear patriarchy more than fear embarrasing ourselves. When we were born we were not patriarchists. We were children. We have to regard the enemy of our Sisters as our enemy. We have to shut the door on him.
Postmodernism is an academic theory, originating in academia with an academic elite, not in the world of women and men, where feminist theory is rooted. Catharine MacKinnonSo the idea that there is nothing essential, in the sense that there are no human universals, is dogma. Ask most anyone who is going to be shot at dawn. Catharine MacKinnonTo be a prisoner means to be defined as a member of a group for whom the rules of what can be done to you, of what is seen as abuse of you, are reduced as part of the definition of your status. Catharine MacKinnonWhat postmodernism gives us instead is a multicultural defense for male violence - a defense for it wherever it is, which in effect is a pretty universal defense. Catharine MacKinnon" It is contrary to the interests of *women* for men to be less that straightforward about their sex particularly in a forum whose work is part of the fight to free women from men's oppression of us." Delphyne.
The Ethics of Care:As Hoagland remarks: "(1) The focus and direction of traditional ethics, indeed its function, has not been individual integrity and agency (ability to make choices and act) but rather social organization and control. (2) The values around which traditional ethics revolves are antagonistic, the values of dominance and subordination. As a result, (3) traditional ethics undermines rather than promotes individual moral ability and agency. And (4) these aspects of traditional ethics combine to legitimize oppression by redefining it as social organization. Appeal to rules and principles is at the heart of this endeavor."In short, the masculine ethics of justice is rational, objective, and impersonal--and that is what makes it inhuman. A truly human ethics would be based on care and a sense of responsibility and obligation to others. Or to put this in terms of feminist epistemology, true objectivity consists in recognizing how emotional involvement in making moral judgments is not only proper but necessary in order to identify exactly what action is done. We can be objective without losing our sense of humanity because being objective means being obligated to try to identify with the person doing an action in order to understand exactly what he or she is doing, thinking, or feeling.
“Voices of Menâ€
..TR
Ben Atherton-Zeman has thirteen years of experience working at domestic violence programs and rape crisis centers. In addition to performing “Voices,†he is ...
www.voicesofmen.org/ ..TABLE
Ben Atherton-Zeman. He is a male feminist. He is a man who is working for women’s rights, especially ending violence against women.
MARY DALY, POSITIVELY REVOLTING HAG!(FROM MARY DALY'S NEW INTERGALACTIC WICKEDARY:Positively Revolting Hag, "a stunning, beauteous Crone; one who inspires positive revulsion from phallic institutions and morality, inciting Others to Acts of Pure Lust"AND SISTERS EVERYWHERE.