Justice for women.

[enigmatic]

As a husband, father (2 daughters), grandfather (3 granddaughter3),
uncle, brother-in-law, cousin (several female cousins) and friend of
women
I am interested in all my female relatives and
friends receiving opportunities to grow and
to develop to their full potential.

This then makes me sympathetic to the basic goals of feminism.
As a male I cannot be a de facto feminist because I believe you
must be a female first of all.

Just because a human being is anatomically different from other
human beings that person cannot be denied the same rights and
privileges as the other person, thus the women's suffrage movement
which addressed the injustice of denying women the opportunity
to participate in the political process.

At the time that Susan B. Anthony was fighting for the voting rights
of her sisters, women were denied the right to own property or the
right
to an education equivalent to that available to men, if they could even
get
any education.

So, in my humble opinion, feminism is the cause which seeks fairness
for females in politics, academia, the workplace and society in general
and is not anti-male or anything negative as some radical thinkers
wish to say in order to discredit activism.

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[cathryn]

enigmatic wrote:
>
> This then makes me sympathetic to the basic goals of feminism.
> As a male I cannot be a de facto feminist because I believe you
> must be a female first of all.
>

Jim,
>From my point of view, you don't need to be female to be a feminist. My
partner describes himself as a feminist, as do my brothers. They
support the notion that women should be valued equally as men, both for
what we have in common and for our differences; they believe that women
should be equally represented in politics and in business; and that we
should have the freedom to choose our future, at least to the extent
that men have that freedom.

So I would say, you already are a feminist, at least by my definition.

Cathryn.

[Rick Merrill]

cathryn wrote:

> enigmatic wrote:
>
>>This then makes me sympathetic to the basic goals of feminism.
>> As a male I cannot be a de facto feminist because I believe you
>>must be a female first of all.
>>
>
> Jim,
>>From my point of view, you don't need to be female to be a feminist. My
> partner describes himself as a feminist, as do my brothers. They
> support the notion that women should be valued equally as men, both for
> what we have in common and for our differences; they believe that women
> should be equally represented in politics and in business; and that we
> should have the freedom to choose our future, at least to the extent
> that men have that freedom.
>
> So I would say, you already are a feminist, at least by my definition.
>
> Cathryn.
>

That would make the opposite of "feminist" be a sexist, one who makes
decisions about people's capabilities based on their gender.

[enigmatic]

Cathryn,
Your point is well made.
Inasmuch as I have a very
relevant interest in seeing that as all women receive
fair teatment generally so that my loved ones may enjoy a
level playing field, I could be labelled a feminist.

The statement was for the benefit of purists who would jump on
me in a minute. You may be interested in a smple of my
writing on the subject. http://letjusticeprevailnow.blogspot.com/