Men and feminism

07/17/17 • 65 min

Should men be involved in feminism, and if so, how?
Men are super involved in feminism these days – and there appears to be a cultural trend in getting men involved in the fight for gender equality.
We’re seeing this daily: be it the UN’s HeForShe campaign which is all about this, or male celebrities like Pharrell Williams and Ashton Kutcher talking about rights for women (and of course, tennis player Andy Murray’s recent stand against casual sexism), and it seems like everyday there are articles in the world’s leading publications about all this too (a recent hit being the New York Times looking at how to raise feminist sons). It makes sense; men also need to change their attitudes and biases if we are to live in a world with gender equality, so of course they need to be part of the fight.
But what about when some men mean well but end up doing more harm than good? This episode explores that.
We look at male feminists – do they actually help the cause of feminism, or do they end up making everything about them, and in essence do they just talk over women, whose voices aren’t heard as much in first place? And should women ask for help from men to increase gender equality, and if so, how should they ask for this help so that it’s carried out most effectively? Or is catering the message so as not to upset men a problem in itself? We explore and untangle all this. And we also hear about the darker side too: the things that even progressive men don’t want to share publicly about their fears and resentments towards feminism...
Host: Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Guests:
Anonymous male essay writer from England
Lucy, woman from England
Michelle Lim, Relationship coach from the US and based in Sweden https://www.michellelim.co
Shea Wilson, American male living in Sweden
Related links:
The Gender Knot www.thegenderknot.com
Jackson Katz’s Tedx talk “Violence against women, it’s a men’s issue” https://www.ted.com/talks/jacksonkatzviolenceagainstwomenitsamensissue
Sheila Kelley’s Tedx talk “Let’s get naked” http://tedxamericanriviera.com/sheila-kelley-lets-get-naked/
Music: Government Funded Weed by Black Ant (used under Creative Commons) Sourpatch by Glass Boy (used under Creative Commons)

Previous Episode

Callout: workplace sexism & your experiences

What sort of sexism takes place in the workplace that we still don’t acknowledge or talk about?
There’s been a lot of talk about sexism in the technology industry, and over the past few weeks several high profile investors have publicly said that they may have contributed to a culture of sexism and harassment of women.
In the debates surrounding all this, I’ve been struck by the very nature of the workplace itself, I’ve been hearing about the ways in which a lot of people degrade themselves on some level for investors, and that the workplace is a brutal and ruthless place for everyone, it’s just that the details are different for the genders. Some of this I agree with, some I disagree with, but I’d like your experiences. What sort of sexism takes place at work that we still don’t talk about? And besides just sexism, should we be overhauling the entire culture of many industries and workplaces in the first place?
Send your thoughts to [email protected] - or find us on Facebook as The Gender Knot Podcast, where you can also send a message. Let me know if you’re happy to have your message read out on the show, and it’s also ok to be anonymous, just state that. Otherwise let me know if you just want to pass a thought on or if you want to talk to me more about it all. Also voice memos are great, and so do send those along too.
Host: Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Associated links:
Nas www.twitter.com/ntavakolifar
The Gender Knot www.facebook.com/thegenderknot

Next Episode

Men and feminism – reactions!

Confusion, frustration, empathy, being able to relate – just some of the reactions I received from you, the audience, to last week’s episode exploring men and feminism, where we asked whether men should get involved in feminism, and if so, how.
Many female listeners unanimously related to one of the discussions last week, and I talk to two male listeners about the conversation on male feminists.
This topic is huge, so I’ll be following it up in a few weeks’ time. Send me your thoughts and experiences at [email protected] or message me via the Facebook page.
Also, check out the fantastic podcast Fine and Dandy with Dan and Andy. This podcast is all about these questions! Comedians Daniel Carroll and Andy Haynes are straight-white-cis-American men, and they try to figure out how to be better men, in terms of gender, race, privilege, and much more! It’s a fun listen, while also tackling important topics with fantastic guests. Subscribe to their show via iTunes or the link below, and join their journey of figuring it out too!
Host: Nas aka Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Guests: Jens Weymann, German male
Alec Molloy, American male
Podcast recommendation:
Fine and Dandy with Dan and Andy https://fineanddandypod.com/
The Gender Knot www.thegenderknot.com