The Role Of Men In Doing Feminism

-By Spriha Shukla

Often when my male friends start a conversation about feminism, there is pressure on me to applaud or even acknowledge their participation. As the whole feminist movement which is miscalculated as women’s movement only, the participation of men brings us to question; as to who represents the feminist movement?

 The participation of men[1] in the women's movement did catch attention where the issues related to women and gender are expected to be looked at by women only! On questioning the current social structure, what exactly motivates men's affiliations with the feminist scholars which seek to dismantle this system? 

When we talk about "men" in this article we need to understand that there exist power differentials among men themselves. Why if there are any men in the course of pursuing feminist literature is seen to extract attention and questions can "man" do "feminism" in India pops up? One of the most important questions which keep popping up like, can men do feminism in India and if yes, how is the current culture addressing it?

Historically, male writers wrote women’s roles and characters. Feminist scholars were concerned about producing pieces targeting lost women's voices, experiences, and then bringing out standpoint theories, methodologies, concerning politics and ethical involvement of women. But my question of concern was how this politics, ethics involved by men studying women? Can men contribute to producing feminist scholars and re-question their position and power? As a principal beneficiary of patriarchal arrangements, what motivates men's affiliation with a theoretical perspective that seeks to dismantle this system? (Chowdhary 2015). The system where gender is socially constructed and the terms like masculinity and femininity are troubled. Men's idea of being powerful and dominating "is particularly re-enforced by sexism, the ideology of male supremacy and superiority (Gamache, 1990). The idea that masculinity is defined in terms of dominance, force, power honor, toughness restricts them from participating in feminist culture or as something less manly. Therefore, men who come forward in support of feminism are questioned with suspicion and they often have to justify and negotiate with their decision in the patriarchal society. Heterosexual men suffer from the dominant expectations of gender! The social construction of gender in which non-heterosexual men or men who do not fall under the category of "normative men" is seen as a minority and excluded from society. The exclusion of queer studies and gays created a movement, which witnessed tentative collection between gay men and feminism (Chowdhary, 2015). The movement witnessed supports from 'heterosexual' men who again bring us to the question of how can these men contribute to the struggle and movement? 

The term Masculinity refers to "socially produced but embodied ways of being a male." Where the term masculine is being superior and feminine is just a supporting character that helps in boosting masculinity. We can here infer that masculinity is a part of patriarchy. Both are different etymologies. Patriarchy makes men superior and masculinity is a process of producing superior men (Srivastava, 2015 ). The propagating question of whether men can do feminism let to the introduction of Masculinity Studies as a course. The course emerged not as an opposition to feminism but the course was an inclusive part of feminist research and studies, which equated feminist ideologies and was a result of oppression and suppression. The focus was to dismantle and question their privileged position. As with men participating in such courses proved that they are ready to reframe and re-question the power structure irrespective of any belief. As masculinity is the process of producing superior men, one can contribute to restructuring this area, which will further stop them from being a part of a patriarchal society. There was a space that led to the reconstruction of the term masculinity and questioned the powerful institutions. 

How the power is refilled by the traditional culture and institutions, is effecting and defining women's role. Which again completes the circle as this is again a feminist concern! So, re-defying and reallocating the positions cannot be done without entering into a women's world and consider gender as a relational and parallel term. As gender is socially constructed and it is performed one can argue that it is, not something which exists or is biologically implanted rather it is constructed, build, and re-build all the time (Butler). Gender is a work in progress( Srivastava, 2015). These courses like Masculinity Studies will try to interrogate the history behind masculine superiority which will raise debate on gendered power and how this power is distributed and deconstructed.

The pressure of masculinity on men forces them to constantly prove their manhood including sexual lives. The pressure on men to perform to fit in socially acceptable society internalizes them to take charge of executing power. Cases of sexual violence, rape, acid attack, or any kind of violence on women by men only seek to establish power and superiority and a mark of masculinity. Rape is the only act where the victim is forced to feel ashamed because of the honor of the family associated with the sexuality of a woman. Therefore, it is more important to deconstruct the concept of masculinity which will, in turn, benefit men and women. Masculinity Studies and men pursuing feminist scholars seek to discover the structures of power within the culture. Both masculinity, men are associated with feminist theory and politics. One cannot be constructed ideally leaving the other to grow.  

References:

· Harding, S. (2009). Standpoint Theories: Productively Controversial. Hypatia, 24(4), 192-200. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20618189

· Gender, Sexuality, Performance – Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. (n.d.). Judith Butler: Live Theory. doi:10.5040/9781472545688.ch-002

· Sircar, O. (2015). Doing and Undoing Feminism, jurisdiction journey. 20. Retrieved April 2, 2017.

· Srivastava, S. (2004). Sexual Sites, Seminal Attitudes: Sexualities, Masculinities, and Culture in South Asia. doi:10.4135/9788132103844

· Men, Masculinities, and Violence: Graduate Journal of Social Science. (2016). Birmingham: EBSCO publishing.

[1] In this article when I refer to “men”, I am conscious of the socio-political and economical references of men. I am aware of the categories of men based on class, caste, religion, culture, and sexuality. In this article, I am addressing the umbrella category of men participating in the feminist movement.