"Since men are the primary agents maintaining and supporting sexism and sexist oppression, they can only be successfully eradicated if men are compelled to assume responsibility for transforming their consciousness and the consciousness of society as a whole." - bell hooks, 2004
Earlier this year, I wrote a piece where I stated that I was "slowly becoming a black male feminist." I mentioned that I was learning more about male privilege and oppression of women. Well, I can say for sure that I am a black male feminist. I always mention that I am "becoming" a feminist because I like to view as a process. It is a journey that I am taking to become a male feminist that actively challenges male privilege and seeks avenues to combat the oppression of women. I also say that I am becoming a feminist due to the fact that I do not want to state I know everything about it and ways to challenge male privilege and oppression. Becoming suggests that I am ever willing to read, to write, and to learn about feminism. I read bell hooks, Melissa Harris Perry, Patricia Hill Collins, and others for guidance and direction. I thought to write this blog to put "pen to paper," if you will, and confirm my beliefs and the things that I have learned thus far. I also see that writing this blog is an act of liberation and freedom to say, "yes I am a man, I am a male, and I am a black male feminist." I will attempt to write my thoughts will clarity. At best, these are half-baked thoughts because (as I stated) I am very new to this field. I will attempt to address issues related to privilege, men's adherence to hegemonic masculinity, and men's contradictory experiences of power. I will then outline strategies for becoming social justice allies within feminism and activism for women's rights.
It was in a class called "The Contemporary College Student," in the Fall of 2012. I was a second year graduate student in the Higher Education Administration program at Morgan State University. One of the books that we were required to read was called "Developing Social Justice Allies," by Reason, Broido, Davis, and Evans (2005). In chapter 3 of the book it discussed issues to increasing men's development of social justice attitudes and actions. I immediately gravitated to this chapter because it began to open my thinking and way of understanding to something I did not even know I had. It opened my understanding to male privilege and the oppression of women. The chapter began with a quote from bell hooks that stated, "After hundreds of years of anti-racist struggle, more than even before non-white people are currently calling attention to the primary role white people must play in anti-racist struggle. The same is true of the struggle to eradicate sexism - men have a primary role to play. (2004)"
Through this quote I began to understand that I have a privilege that I was not totally aware of. The issue with privilege is that people in the majority group may or may not recognize that they have a privilege. Privilege exists whether or not it is felt or recognized. It was through this class that I began to understand my privilege. The difficulty that I had with this concept is that I did not feel that I had earned the privilege. As a member of a minority group, I was not used to the idea that I had a privilege. It became apparent when my professor asked the class, "If you ever had to protect yourself from rape or sexual assault, step back" It was an ice breaker at the beginning of class in which those who stepped forward were privileged and those who stepped back were oppressed. After a list of questions, I realized that I had stepped forward when the other women in the class stepped backwards. It was critical moment in my development as an ally.
The next semester, I had the opportunity to hear Melissa Harris Perry speak at a conference I attended in Las Vegas, NV. She held a talk on her book, "Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America." She discussed the impact that politics have had on Black Women in America. From the stereotypes of hypersexuality in the Jezebel, the subservient role of Mammy, and the emasculating anger of Sapphire, she dealt with the politics of recognition within the American society. African American women struggle with a crooked room in which they are forced to conform in order to be recognized. She mentioned the difficulty within the intersection of race, class, and gender stating that it is hard to be a Black Women in America. The Black Women in America already has two strikes against her, (1) she is black and (2) she is a woman. She states in her book, "As members of a stigmatized group, African American women lack opportunities for accurate, affirming recognition of the self and yet must contend with hypervisibility imposed by they lower social status." Using the concept of recognition, she discusses how "individuals from disempowered social groups desire recognition for their group but also want recognition of their distinctiveness from the group." How the collective Black Women in America are misrecognized in the public sphere impacts how the individual Black Woman is effected socially, economically, and politically.
The process of understanding who is harmed and who benefits provides the building blocks to understand privileges, disadvantages, and institutional oppression. As human beings, we struggle with the need to have our social and cultural experience validated and understood. There is an innate need to be recognized. However, gender based violence and violence against women are clear signs that women across the globe are being silenced by oppressive males. As I am becoming a male feminist, I understand that gender based violence, domestic violence, and adherence to hegemonic masculinity hurt both the man and the woman. Sexism hurts both parties. This is a critical moment for me as I am currently living in Namibia. I daily see the impacts of a patriarchal society and it's impact on women in Africa. My experiences in Namibia are opening my eyes to male privilege, hegemonic masculinity, and men's contradictory experience of power. "Becoming an alley to women means engaging men in reflecting about the ways the feminine is denigrated in both women and men. (Reason, 2005). Men are socialized to have control, power, and be competitive. The contradiction occurs when the individual male does not feel that he has control or power. On one end of the spectrum, men are privileged as a group, but as individuals, men fall short of hegemonic masculinity. It is suggested that there is an opportunities to promote social justice in men through men's privilege and pain. "The pain associated with such denial and the corresponding privilege conferred to men by patriarchy provide crucial clues for promoting the growth and development of attitudes consistent with social justice. (Reason, 2005).
So in order to become an activist for women's rights there are several ways to challenge male privilege and oppression of women. Firstly, "in the moment" actions can be used to confront statements that are sexist that are often overlooked. Secondly, in meetings where a man's point of view is heard more than a woman's, "noticing when this happens and naming it provides unique opportunity for deconstructing a system that otherwise continues unquestioned and becomes normalized. (Reason, 2005)" Finally, there are some fundamental professional discussion guidelines for facilitating a men's discussion (see Pollack, 2001). These are:
- Create a safe space
- Give men time to feel comfortable with expression
- Seek out and provide alternative pathways for expression
- Listen without judging
- Avoid shaming
- Give affirmation
The obstacles to becoming a black male feminist related to privilege, adherence to hegemonic masculinity, and men's contradictory experience of power must be understood. I look forward to continue the journey.
Will add references later... I'm tired!
Eugene Smith, M.A.
