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Duyen Nguyen
December 11, 2015
ENG 1010 T/TH
Professor James H. Celestino
Final Argument Essay
As feminism is gaining momentum to enter its Fourth Wave, the womens movement has
made great leaps in becoming more inclusive, not only to women of all colors and religions, but
also to men, the so-called antagonist in the feminist narrative. However, men who do support
feminism are stuck in a dilemma where their masculinity is ridiculed for being pro-feminist. It is
high time the movement shifted its focus on combating the opposite gender as a whole to making
them an ally in dismantling misogyny and male chauvinism. For one obvious reason, our society
can only function properly as long as humans of all genders work together, instead of one
specific group taking supreme reign. In that sense, feminism is a movement of equality and no
man should be ashamed of identifying himself as a feminist.
Feminism, despite its arguably discriminative name and many forms stemming from
various ideologies, at its core believes that women suffer from social disadvantages caused by
the patriarchal society, hence the need for reforming actions. Throughout its long history,
feminism has evolved into different branches underpinned by various ideologies. It is important
to define these branches as each has a different approach in solving gender inequality, ranging
from extremely radical to merely spiritual. Broadly speaking, the most recognized types of
feminism are radical, liberal, cultural, socialist, libertarian and eco feminism. Radical feminism,
as its name suggests, is usually referred to as the extreme form of feminism, which gives

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feminism as a whole a bad rap for man-hating or bra-burning. This form of feminism, as
Kathy Rudy (201) a professor of womens studies at Duke University explained, tends to be
white-centered and overlook class, cultural, regional and religious struggles in the process of
promoting the superiority of women. However, she also admitted that radical feminism is what
put feminism on the cultural and political map of America. Liberal feminism, instead of focusing
on uprooting the current patriarchal society like radical feminism does, mobilizes movements to
change legislations to ensure equal footing for women in the workplace, education, and
healthcare. However, liberal feminists has also been criticized for neglecting the ideology
underpinning patriarchal oppression, as well as race and class issues (Wendell, 66). The most
inclusive branch of feminism, perhaps, is socialist feminism. Socialist feminists claim the way
men, who produce tangible goods, are rewarded much more than women, who produce
intangible goods, due to their pre-determined gender roles, in capitalism is the basis for the
oppression of women. Taking into account racial, religious and cultural issues, they believe the
obliteration of class and gender in other words, men and women must work together as peers
is the answer to the problem (Kennedy, 499 502). However, the term socialist and its
implication of challenging capitalism is what makes socialist feminism not as prominent as
liberal feminism in such a capitalist society like the U.S. Unlike the three branches defined
above, libertarian, cultural and eco feminism are usually non-political. They put more emphasis
on sexuality and spirituality of femininity, as opposed to masculinity, and encourage individual
change, rather than collective actions.
The history of feminism, which started as early as in the 1840s with the movement for
womens suffrage in the US, has witnessed ground-breaking successes in revolutionizing the
social balance, leading many people, especially in the US, into believing gender equality is

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realized and/or feminism is unnecessary. However, statistics from recent research indicate
otherwise. The gender pay gap in 2012 in the US was at a whopping 18%, since professional
works in low-paying field comprises mostly of women while their male counterparts dominate
the high-paying jobs, according to statistics of the US Bureau of Labor. If statistics like one
above is too far-fetched for one to grasp the ongoing imbalance of genders in occupation, a quick
search of the word CEO gives one a much more visualized illustration of the matter at hand.
Unsurprisingly, almost all of the images turning up for the search query are white men, with an
ironic appearance of a Barbie Doll clad in business suit. The underlying algorithm of the search
engine in itself is not sexist. It only reflects how we constantly use the term as exclusively malespecific. In fact, in a paper published in April 2015, a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon
University claim Google displays far fewer ads for high-paying executive jobs if the job
seeker is a woman (Datta, Tschantz, and Datta, 105). The research team, however, noted that
these results are affected by the audience the advertiser choose to target, which means a majority
of companies consciously prefer male applicants over female ones. Therefore, it is undeniable
that the gender pay gap and workplace gender imbalance exists.
Men, the antagonist in almost every feminist conversation, are unsurprisingly becoming
an unsung force of change in the feminist movement. The relationship between men and
feminism has always been of a complicated nature as men are both the subject and object of
critique in the feminist narrative. In an anecdote about an experience while teaching Gender and
International Human Rights at University of Denver in 2004, Laura A. Herbert (32) recounted an
encounter of a male student with feminists in her article Taking Difference Seriously:
Feminism and the Man Question. He identified himself as a feminist but his female friend denied
that statement since there was no way he could truly experience the struggle and oppression

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women have to face daily. In a sense, this is arguably a logical argument on the authenticity of
any man claiming to be a feminist. The ultimate goal of feminism, after all, is to advance
womens positions in the male-dominated society; therefore, its core interests appear to be
opposite to mens interests, or so a majority of men tend to think. Being cast as the other, and
the cause of the problem, it is understandable that men would feel like being blamed and get
defensive. In reality, many men have been known to be eloquent advocates of womens rights
since the dawn of the movement, e.g. former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, multi-billionaire
Warren Buffet, and Dalai Lama (Brougher, Im a Male Feminist). Jimmy Carter, in an
interview about his new book, told the host: There's no evidence at all that Jesus Christ did
anything except to exalt women. Never has a single word or action been alleged to him that
would deprive women from their equal or superior rights." In fact, he chose to leave the Southern
Baptist Convention when they declared that women should be submissive to their husbands,
mind you, in 2012 (Hafiz). However, these few good men account for just a small portion, while
a majority of the rest are either impervious to this matter or silenced by the perpetuated
hegemonic masculinity deeply engraved in their consciousness.
One core thing these men should notice is feminism, while aiming to promote womens
well-being, is not absolutely against mens interest. Certainly, there are privileges that men will
have to forfeit in order to ensure gender equality, like the ability to use social and legal power
structures for sexual advantage and the capacity to exploit women for unpaid domestic labor
(Crowe, 51). However, men can gain so much more in exchange for this injustice done to the
other half of the world. In cultivating a mutually respected and shared relationship with women
and challenging outdated notions of masculinity, men can explore alternative social roles that has
always been a taboo to them, as much like women are able to take on mens roles in other

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disciplines. In this way, men can take off the load of always being strong and actually pursue
their aspiration in whichever field they are truly cut out for.
As Linn Egeberg Holmgren and Jeff Hearn (404) explained in their research titled
Framing men in feminism, the normal feminist is usually thought to be a woman. Being a
man is deviant in a feminist discourse because he who claims to be feminist might only do so to
appear politically correct for a hidden agenda that does not necessarily advocate womens rights.
Therefore, men who do identify themselves as feminist run into the problem of passing as profeminist without an overt statement to avoid suspicion. In Ms. Holmgren and Mr. Hearns
research (408 411), they found a number of ways men could pass as pro-feminist with
authenticity. One way is to use self-denigrating humor to distance ones self from pseudofeminists. Another way to solve this problem is men acknowledging their privileges and
shortcomings in expressing their pro-feminist position in social scenarios due to peer pressure
among other men. These men might eventually venture out to challenge notions of masculinity,
especially in terms of body image, as a form of pro-feminist expression. Sometimes, when a man
fail to pass as a genuine feminist and accept this exclusion, he can also be considered to have
already been a part of the feminist perspective, which grants him the feminist status. Overall, the
researchers concluded it was the experience and acknowledgement of gender exclusion and its
effects that lent credibility to a mans feminist claim, rather than hollow voicing of politically
correct opinions.
Perhaps the greatest hurdle for any man in showing their support for feminism is the
traditional standards of masculinity, some of which are almost unachievable or irrelevant in our
modern society. Ask any man what being manly means and the expected answer should be
strength, determination, ambition, rationality, objectivity, dependability, or any tribute that

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makes him the leader of the pack, or the breadwinner of the family. This is also a benchmark
expected of any man who wants to be considered successful and in control of his life. The flip
side of the coin is once such a man fails to achieve those socially constructed standards, e.g. not
earning as much as his spouse does, he might resort to violent expressions towards his loved
ones as a way to irrigate his inner stagnation. Being raised in a conservative Asian family, I am
well aware of the gender role clearly defined. My father, under the pressure of being the
breadwinner, left all of the housework and child rearing to my mother, who as the same time
wanted to aspire to be the head of the literature department of the school she worked at. A
strong-willed woman as she was, she had to set aside her ambition to take care of her family,
while being taken granted. Things got worse when she had enough and sought solace in another
man, which provoked overt anger and violence from my father. Imagine what you would feel if
your mother, daughter, girlfriend or sister had to go through such an experience.
While some men persevere under pressure, others who are less competitive, timid in
manners, and/or sharply dressed, are the subject of laments over a masculinity crisis. Their
gender expression are usually associated with femininity, and in some cases, homosexuality.
Nevertheless, masculinity is not in a crisis. The misogynistic perpetuation of an outdated
definition of gender and gender expression is the crisis. Scientific studies have shown that there
is a distinct difference in biological sex and gender. While the former is determined by
chromosomes, hormones, internal reproductive structures and external genitalia, the latter is
more of an intertwined construct of sex, personal sense of self, and external expression of
identity, under social, racial, cultural and religious influences (American Psychological
Association). Masculinity and femininity, therefore, are two binaries insufficient in representing
the whole gender spectrum with myriads of variations in between. Downplaying everything in

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the middle while setting two ends of this spectrum against each other only further entrenches a
separation between entities that are supposed to co-habitat and co-operate in order to sustain a
balance essential to the survival of the human race.
A man can be as feminist as a woman can, and any man should be able to call himself a
feminist without fearing the social stigma wrongly associated with the term. This scenario is
achievable as long as we redefine gender and gender expression as a spectrum, not a couple of
binaries. As such, that will be a long leap towards deconstructing male chauvinism and misogyny
as the two main culprits dividing our humanity. In the end, feminist is just another label that one
has the right to adopt or not. The sole most important thing is men and women should, and need
to, work side by side in all spheres of our society to overcome racial, cultural and religious
barriers and head towards a sustainable society. After all, what would we do without each other?

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Works Cited
American Psychological Association. Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Lesbian, Gay,
and Bisexual Clients. American Psychological Association. n.d. Web. 30 November.
2015.
Anderson, Veanne N. "What's In A Label? Judgments of Feminist Men and Feminist Women."
Psychology of Women Quarterly 33.2 (2009): 206-215. Academic Search Premier. Web.
20 Oct. 2015.
Brougher, John. Im a Male Feminist. No, Seriously. CNN U.S. 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Oct.
2015.
Connell, R.W. "Men and the Women's Movement." Social Policy 23.4 (1993): 72-78. Academic
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Crowe, Jonathan. "Men and Feminism: Some Challenges and a Partial Response." Social
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Datta, Amit, Michael Carl Tschantz, and Anupam Datta. Automated Experiments on Ad
Privacy Settings: A Tale of Opacity, Choice, and Discrimination. Proceedings on
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Hafiz, Yasmine. "Jimmy Carter Speaks Out On Religion and Equality for Women; Slams Sexist
Biblical Interpretations." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 Mar. 2014.
Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
Hebert, Laura A. "Taking 'Difference' Seriously: Feminisms and the 'Man Question." Journal of
Gender Studies 16.1 (2007): 31-45. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
Holmgren, Linn Egeberg, and Jeff Hearn. "Framing 'Men in Feminism': Theoretical Locations,
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Gender Equality and Feminism." Journal of Gender Studies 18.4 (2009): 403-418.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
Kennedy, Elizabeth Lapovsky. "Socialist Feminism: What Difference Did It Make To The
History Of Women's Studies?". Feminist Studies 34.3 (2008): 497-525. Academic Search
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Rudy, Kathy. "Radical Feminism, Lesbian Separatism, and Queer Theory." Feminist Studies
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Wendell, Susan. "A (Qualified) Defense of Liberal Feminism." Hypatia 2.2 (1987): 65.
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