Dudes, I feel your pain. I was also lost and confused that feminism wasn’t about me! (Because I transitioned and things changed, but anyway…)
Don’t worry, this is what you do:
- Listen to women
- Before you offer ‘the male perspective’ consider: have they heard this before? (Spoiler: yes, they have)
- Amplify the voices of women. Online, this might look like a retweet or a like. Offline, if somebody is ignoring a good point made by Sally, repeat what she just said with attribution. Make sure Sally gets credit.
- Are you talking too much? Do some maths: how much should you be talking? Don’t take up more than your share of space, especially if you’re just agreeing with other men.
- If you have a pertinent point, is it something maybe you heard from a woman? Give her credit.
- Do your own research. Find or ask for resources and figure stuff out on your own time, without expecting a reward or hand-holding.
- Don’t participate in events that exclude women. (If you go to conferences, check out who’s on the panels ahead of time. Take the pledge.)
- Pay women for their work. (Especially relevant if you’re trying to organise an event or do some ‘diversity’ outreach.)
Pursuant to point 5, these aren’t my ideas.
Pursuant to point 6, try googling ‘how to be a feminist ally’.
Many of these points apply to being an ally of any community to which you do not belong. As Trumpism is putting many different groups of people at risk, working together in solidarity is more important now than ever.
