Author Topic: Feminist Men  (Read 7492 times)

Offline Brown Eyes

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Feminist Men
« on: November 22, 2008, 05:11:54 pm »
I thought this thread could be a discussion on the role of men in the long struggle for women's rights and gender equality.  In all struggles and victories on the road to improved women's rights there have always been important male allies, leaders, organizers and supporters. 

In almost any relevant cause it's possible to find fascinating historical examples.  To cite two almost random examples of the top of my head, Frederick Douglass was not only an important abolishionist and pioneer civil rights activist in the 19th century, he was also a an active and powerful advocate for women's suffrage.  And, John Stuart Mill's treatise "On the Subjugation of Woman" written in 1869, was a very important document and step in the struggle for women's suffrage in England (he was also married to an important suffragist named Harriet Taylor).

But, it's also important to examine the relationship between the genders/sexes in current debates and struggles.

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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2008, 01:21:27 pm »
Thanks, atz, for that info as sadly I don't believe I know of any others. 

There had to be, certainly, because back in the past, women who fought for women's rights had no legal standing in society - they couldn't vote, they couldn't own or inherit property, etc., - so there had to be men they convinced with their reasoning and men who believed as they did to support and push through changes in law and society and social institutions whether it be their husbands, fathers or mentors.

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2008, 08:21:59 pm »
Well, one of my own pet interests is the history of women's suffrage, so a lot of the examples I can think of have to do with that subject.  And, there were a good number of important men involved in the movements in the U.S. and in England.  I know less about the details of suffrage history for most other countries, but I'd assume there have been a spectrum of important men involved in this issue in a range of countries.  I'm sure there are tons of examples of men involved in other feminist causes too.  But, again, based on my own interests the examples I'll most likely come up with are suffrage related.

I once posted this example from the movement in the U.S. in another thread somewhere here at BetterMost:



Max Eastman (shown to the left with the white cane) founded the Mens Equal Suffrage Leauge in 1910 and later became the President of the Men's Equal Suffrage League of New York.  His sister Crystal Eastman was also a really prominent suffragist.  Max was very dapper (in many photos he looks sort of like a movie star type) and was apparently a well-known figure in Greenwich Village.  But, his main interests were progressive social causes and politics and women's suffrage fit into this type of interest for him.

This is clearly a picture of him marching in a suffrage parade.  I think many of the big, organized parades across the country would usually feature a men's section.

Max is just one example.  I'll post more as this thread grows.

:)

the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2008, 11:14:34 pm »
Max Eastman (shown to the left with the white cane) founded the Mens Equal Suffrage Leauge in 1910 and later became the President of the Men's Equal Suffrage League of New York.  His sister Crystal Eastman was also a really prominent suffragist.  Max was very dapper (in many photos he looks sort of like a movie star type) and was apparently a well-known figure in Greenwich Village.  But, his main interests were progressive social causes and politics and women's suffrage fit into this type of interest for him.

I just looked up Max Eastman and he sounds very interesting. Was he related to Linda Eastman?


Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2008, 11:46:23 pm »
I just looked up Max Eastman and he sounds very interesting. Was he related to Linda Eastman?



I don't know....  I don't know who Linda Eastman is... (**blushes**).  Do tell! :)



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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #5 on: November 24, 2008, 12:27:22 am »
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/5905968-d56.jpg" border="0" />

Laurence Housman (1834-1959)

The author, illustrator and dramatist Laurence Housman, was the brother of poet A. E. Housman, and was a well-known British militant working for women's suffrage.  He  helped found the Men's League for Woman's Suffrage in England in 1907. Like its sister organization, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), the Men's League engaged in protest strategies that included civil disobedience, destruction of property and hunger strikes. Housman not only took part in some pretty radical protest strategies, he wrote pamphlet and gave speeches.  One of his many suffrage pamphlets, for example, was titled Sex-War and Woman's Suffrage from 1912. In it Housman suggests that the suffrage movement highlighted a wide range of social and legal injustices caused by institutionalized sexism.

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karen1129

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2008, 12:36:44 am »
Hey, thanks for this thread.

This is all very interesting.


Offline serious crayons

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2008, 12:37:30 am »
I don't know....  I don't know who Linda Eastman is... (**blushes**).  Do tell! :)

Well, Linda Eastman is better known by her married name, Linda McCartney. But in googling, I can't find any evidence that they're related. Linda was related to the Eastman of Eastman-Kodak, the photography company.




Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #8 on: November 24, 2008, 01:09:19 am »

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/5906334-65c.jpg" border="0" />
Diego Martelli, painted by Edgar Degas c. 1879-1880

Diego Martelli (1839-1896) is someone I learned a bit about when I was writing my dissertation (which was about Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt), so that's where I'm getting my info for this post.  Martelli was an Italian writer who often wrote art criticism and was a very early advocate of Impressionism (by Degas knew him, etc.). 

So here's a case of someone interested primarily in a women's issue other than suffrage.

Martelli was a very radical supporter of a broad range of women's rights (property rights, divorce rights, etc.) in Europe and attended lots of important conferences on women's rights particularly in France and Italy in the late 19th century.  He also wrote treatises on the topic of women's rights.  One of the causes he was very passionate about was the issue of institutionalized prostitution in France (it was legal and regulated in really horrible, demeaning ways).  In 1880 he presented a paper at a conference in Genoa about the problem of prostitution particularly as it pertains to women's rights.  Here's a little bit of his paper that he simply titled "Prostitution", that I quoted in my dissertation. It includes some over-the-top language, which in some ways is very typical of 19th century critics and polemicists.

"It seems to me rather... that this is the final step in the subjugation of the female, and... is the last link in a chain of infamies to which woman has been subjected by the bestiality of man... And it is... a state not peculiar to those unfortunate women who sell their mistreated and exhausted flesh for a few pennies in the brothel, but rather, it is the normal condition of the entire sex..."


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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #9 on: November 24, 2008, 01:13:08 am »
Well, Linda Eastman is better known by her married name, Linda McCartney. But in googling, I can't find any evidence that they're related. Linda was related to the Eastman of Eastman-Kodak, the photography company.


Ah! OK, gotcha.  I have a cool book of Linda's photography somewhere (I think stored at my parents' house at this point).

So, this could lead us out of the 19th century/ early-20th century and into a more modern age... thinking of the Beatles and the 60s, etc.  Can we consider Paul a feminist?  John more so (maybe)?  When we think of all the progressive thinking going on in the 1960s, who were the men who seemed most supportive and interested in women's rights in any category (musicians, writers, politicians, etc.)?

Can Bob Dylan be considered a supporter of feminism?



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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #10 on: November 24, 2008, 05:10:41 pm »
I just looked up Max Eastman and he sounds very interesting. Was he related to Linda Eastman?


That's what I wondered.  :)

So, this could lead us out of the 19th century/ early-20th century and into a more modern age... thinking of the Beatles and the 60s, etc.  Can we consider Paul a feminist?  John more so (maybe)? 



Woman is the Nigger of the World - John Lennon

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5lMxWWK218[/youtube]




Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #11 on: November 25, 2008, 03:04:11 pm »

<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/5905967-2aa.jpg" border="0" />

Frederick W. Pethick-Lawrence (1871- 1961)

Frederick Pethick-Lawrence and his wife, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, co-edited the radical suffrage newspaper in England called Votes for Women.  The couple's home became the site of suffrage meetings and was known as a haven for suffragists returning from prison sentences. In 1912 both Frederick and Emmeline were arrested following a protest and sentenced to nine-month prison terms. Frederick is also credited with helping to provide bail money for about 1,000 suffragists arrested during protests.



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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Feminist Men
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2009, 11:40:02 am »

Bump for bump-fest! 8)

the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie