How Does Feminism Benefit Men?

Hi loves!

So, this post is directed at my male readers who are anti-feminist because they believe feminism doesn’t mean equality and doesn’t benefit men. I’m going to tell you just how feminism does benefit men and why you would be doing both genders a world of good by becoming a feminist.

A common question I see floating about is ‘How does feminism benefit men?’.. Wonder no more! Your fave gal is here to give you all the answers..

Feminism benefits men greatly, just as it does women. The first thing I want to explore is the concept of toxic masculinity. Have you ever noticed that men are often portrayed as less sensitive/emotional than women? You probably have. This is partly because of gender stereotypes, but partly because men have been socialised throughout their lives to show less emotion than women, as being emotional is not ‘manly’. Men are seen as ‘less emotional’ than women, but often they just don’t show the emotion they do have. Suicide statistics are higher for men than women, so why are men shut down when they try to speak out? Feminism is a movement that is interested in letting men know it’s okay to share their emotions and it doesn’t make them any less of a man.

Secondly, I commonly see people (particularly men) complaining that courts favour women over men when it comes to who gets custody over a child. This is usually because mothers are seen as the primary carer, as women are stereotyped as more caring and affectionate towards children than men. This simply isn’t true, as men have the ability to look after children just as well as women. So, my question to men is: What if I told you feminism is trying to eradicate the gender stereotypes that women are better at looking after children than men? Isn’t that what you want, since you want fathers to have an equal opportunity to gain custody over a child?

On a similar note, women are often seen as the weaker sex. Unfortunately, I’ve notice that many men like to use this to their advantage, yet complain about the stereotype when it doesn’t affect them positively. For example, this stereotype can often lead to courts treating women more leniently than men when it comes to jail sentencing. This is something I often see men complaining about. Feminism can help men in this instance, as eradicating the idea that women are weaker than men can hopefully lead to the courts and prisons treating women equally to men when it comes to sentencing.

Now, it’s not my job to sit here and persuade men that feminism benefits them in order for them to become a feminist. It’s your choice if you want to become a feminist, and quite frankly I don’t care if you do or don’t. However, I am sick of seeing men complaining that feminism is ‘all about women’. Feminism focuses on women because women have always been the oppressed gender, however feminism can be great for battling against toxic masculinity in society.

My question for you is: Why does feminism have to benefit men in order for a man to become a feminist? Not everything is about men, believe it or not.

Lots of love,

Soph. xx