Do Men Need Feminism More than Women?

It's a pretty loaded title. Of course Men don't need feminism more than Women. Feminism is by women, for women, and should ideally support only women.

I think this is a modern lens in which we view an ancient issue.

For the modern needs of women, the current iteration of feminism mostly serves their needs. It promotes empowerment, security, and independence. It teaches that women don't need to rely on the abilities of men, and that they should have never needed to.

Indeed, this modern ideal makes perfect sense to the modern Woman - but where do men stand in this?

The current iteration of feminism is still fighting an uphill battle, many in the same areas it has won victories in. Sex work is being destigmatized in culture, but still full of predatory men, connecting straight to the sex trafficking industry. The glass ceiling in workplaces is being tapped on, but often propped up by unfortunate nepotism or diversity quotas.

Even small cultural issues, now with a spotlight on them, are ridiculed or derided by men for 'going too far.' 'Mansplaining' is a great example of this. A silly name for a very real issue of women being talked over and presumed ignorant. The modern Woman would hear the definition of mansplaining and nod their head in agreement. The modern Man hears the definition and chides it.

Chiding, dismissing, presuming to know more about the modern tenants of feminism is where many men go wrong. It's where most men go wrong. I believe this to be for a pretty simple reason.

Feminism has historically served and uplifted Women, and as it has evolved, so has our understanding of feminism, and what it needs to do.

Men, left out of this picture, are now decidedly ignorant on not just the concept of feminism, but its foundations.

Men know now that the concept of 'woman-shall-not-be-hit' is an antiquated trope backed up by a history of women being damsels in need of protection. Their natural conclusion to this information, devoid of critical feminist analysis, is that women and men should be hit equally, not that the average strength of a man, the average impact of his hit, is several magnitudes stronger than that of a woman.

The fundamentally power imbalance isn't analyzed, just the egalitarian conclusion.

That is the crux of this issue. That 'egalitarian conclusion.'

If you've observed any feminist theory, or just interfaced with the crisis modern women are facing with their rights being stripped away, you'd know the end goal of feminism is not equality, it is the empowerment of women, and for as long as feminism is needed, it will always be about that.

Not equalizing the genders - empowering women until they no longer need to be empowered.

That is the foundation the modern Man lacks.

Equality is a loft, distant goal. In the age of class divides and misinformation, of online political bubbles pitting ideologies against one another, equality cannot be the only goal of feminism. It is too far-flung, too hard to reach, and the material reality of women is now, not then.

Our ancestral feminists understood this, and the feminism that was built off of that understood it too. Layers of understanding and complexity and evolution, yet the core goal to all feminists was still understood - empower, do not equalize. For it is not the responsibility of the victim, of the underclass, to fix the society stacked against them. It is the responsibility of the aggressor, of those benefitting at the top, to right their wrongs.

That's why men need feminism more than women - not any modern interpretation of feminism, but the core, foundational roots. The first waves and the radical feminists that paved the way are well understood by the women benefitting from their struggles, but not understood at all by the men they struggled against.

Women already understand the fundamental injustices of the world and how their sex makes life harder. Men don't understand this. While women are having discussions of mansplaining, glass ceilings, protecting female spaces, many men are still grappling with the simple fact that they are the beneficiaries of a system dangerous to almost everyone but them.

Men could learn great things from leaning into ancient feminist texts and absorbing renowned theory. Like understanding any complex human issue, digging back to the roots is essential.

When men finally step up and begin to do this, there will be a wealth of knowledge and insight for them to behold, as well as the understanding that none of it was made for them, and never needed to be.