welcome to fem.men.ist

hello people!

wassup. around a week ago, i sent out an email to folks asking questions around their thoughts on a social networking site (for all genders) where one could meet "feminist men" for activism, friendship, dating, etc. i have gotten some good responses which i will paraphrase (hopefully doing them justice, correct me if i fall short!). A couple friends suggested that a blog would really open up the dialogue, so this is my first blog! exciting. :)

looking for feedback on this project, some of my original email said:

"a good place to start would be what the profile would look like- "favorite feminist icon" "favorite feminist book" etc... also pointing out inherent problematic things such a site could have would be helpful, or how to deal with the fact that there are so many places within feminism that one can locate themselves, etc etc. a structural question is whether it should have a questionaire/quiz that is the entrance test, or whether it should be open to all, and people just gotta represent, and get kicked out if they get trollish. thots?"

and here are anonymous paraphrases (that you should feel free to claim, correct or bounce off of) of suggestions/perspectives left by some of the women who responded:


-it should be clear that "feminist man" does not mean "no longer sexist man"

-these men need to define what feminism means to them, and what they actively do to resist a sexist culture.

-the definition should include input from women in their lives, it should be a connected convo with people affected by it and those who benefit/are on the other side of that experience.

-men should share about how they relate to their masculinity and sexuality.

-sexism should be cross-referenced with racism, since they are both visible oppressions, and race clearly influences women's experience of sexism.


...and now, the floor is open! i invite all genders to contribute to this space, bring your experience and knowledge, and hopefully i can give something back that people feel good about. Thank you in advance, bless up!

in solidarity and ffloods of love,
richard