Can a Man Really Be a Feminist?
Sigh... I'm asking this question quite seriously. One fellow male, also haunted by feminist concerns, suggested recently that "pro-feminist" is as close as we men can get. In light of recent revelations -- aided by an articulate female professor who read an edited version (published in Christians for Biblical Equality's Summer 2006 Mutuality magazine) of my article this site is named after -- I discovered another layer of self-ignorance that needed peeling off.
Sure, the original article discusses race at some length (the edited one less so). But when I mention being propositioned by a prostitute in my neighborhood, I also mention that she was African American. As the professor pointed out, among other things, I (1) didn't really know whether she was African American, African, or where she was from, (2) seemed to link her race with my repugnance for her proposition, (3) offered fodder for the old mythologies regarding black women's sexuality, and (4) showed my incipient vulnerability to thinking racially by mentioning her race at all, especially when the bulk of the article does not mention the race of women (or most of the men) I discuss there.
Of course, I would like to say "No, no, no!" And in fact, her second and third critiques, while understandable, did not ring true to me the writer. The truth of it is that if anything I find women of a darker persuasion more attractive than women of a pale persuasion. That such feelings themselves betray a certain racialist framework I do confess, with a sigh.
But the professor's first and fourth critiques rang very true, her fourth most of all. Why mention the woman's color? What purpose did it serve? What did it tell the reader about me and my own universe? As I told her in an email, the lesson I take from this experience is that I am more than ever a white male still in transit regarding issues of both race and gender equality.
Finally, the online article in its original version (quite a bit longer than the CBE Mutuality version) has been edited by me here to remove the mention of the prostitute's race. I am currently unable to change it on another site (Cornerstone Magazine) due to a foul technical glitch locking me out of the article database (sigh!). And as a historical note only, the article was originally given as a seminar at Cornerstone Festival's "Gender Revolution" tent (2005).
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posted by Jon Trott @ 9:16 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I happened upon your site and am thus far refreshed by what I read...I too, am in the daily process of being stripped and transformed regarding my perceptions of race, gender, etc. as I know it.
My credentials are in sociology and social work. I am a recovering evangelical, a Christian feminist, and a white girl that desperately needs Christ's help at loving my neighbors.
Look forward to reading more.
Christian feminism is an oxymoron, and I have to wonder about a man who chooses to be a feminist...the word "whipped" comes to mind here.
As a woman, I say, MAN UP!
It might be philosophically possible for a male to be feminist, but a male's SAYING "I'm a feminist" is for me too much like saying "I'm so humble." But then, I'm introverted -- what do I know about what's possible for those who are otherwise structured? There's always the problem that a person's doctrine and their attitude & actions might not match, as is all too generally true in religion. If you want to know about a male's attitude, ask several of the feminist women around him. That's more interesting to me than the theoretical approach (i.e., "theology").
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