"You're a feminist if you care about women and if you care about what happens in their lives. You're a feminist if you care about women and the issues that women care about. It's not that complicated." ~ Don McPherson
I love, love, love this quote. I found it when I was reading feministing.com (this website is freaking amazing! Its my go-to site for all things feminist related) while reading an interview with Don McPherson. I think its great that the website constantly features men who are feminist, I mean we can't do this alone. When I first read the article I was surprised to find out that McPherson was the captain of Syracuse Universities football team and then went pro. I am ashamed to admit I made a snap judgement about him, I thought "what does a football player know about feminism?" Which I think stems from the fact that all the football players I personally know are complete tools. I regret that I thought this and instead am happy to say Don McPherson has broken the stereotype about athletes. After he finished playing football McPherson choose to devote his life to activism. As director of the MVP (Mentors in Violence Prevention Program) which aims to raise "awareness about violence against women and trains male athletes to be a part of the solution" he has spoken in high schools and universities around the United States. As the above quote testifies we need more men to not only identify themselves as feminists but to actually work with women in creating equality for all. I think so many men and women are afraid of labeling themselves as a feminist. The word has a negative connotation for so many, which is complete rubbish if you ask me, their really wasn't bra burning like everyone seems to believe. Also I think many men and women believe in the feminist ideas yet they don't like the word "feminist." Instead we need people to understand that feminist is a bad word and it's good to call yourself one. It is men like Don McPherson who will help change these negative perceptions of feminism.
Jem
I pity Mr. McPherson as he must experience a good deal of self-hate. Since feminism has ceased to be about equality and has evolved into simply being a "special interest", men who believe in true equality can not and should not identify as feminists. Indeed, women who honestly believe in true equality should also not identify with feminism.
ReplyDeleteI pity poor Don McPherson as he must experience much self-hate. Since feminism is no longer about equality and since feminists are merely part of a "special interest group" trying to gain advantages and not fight for true equality, no self-respecting man can actually consider himself a feminist. Indeed no self-respecting woman would really want to associate with those who represent the hate of 50% of humanity.
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