Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!ames!elroy!ucla-cs!uci-ics!uflorida!beach.cis.ufl.edu!asr From: asr@beach.cis.ufl.EDU (Allen S. Rout) Newsgroups: soc.feminism Subject: Re: Definition of feminism, can a man be a feminist? Message-ID: <17672@paris.ics.uci.edu> Date: 13 Jun 89 18:13:09 GMT Sender: news@paris.ics.uci.edu Reply-To: "Allen S. Rout" Organization: UF CIS Department Lines: 37 Approved: tittle@ics.uci.edu In article druid@robotics.jpl.nasa.gov (Andrew Kerne) writes: >I don't think that men in general have the right to say what is >feminist -- it is something essentially defined by women. >So men, please, please, sit with your egos quietly for a little while, >at least until some women have spoken about this. Otherwise, the >connection between soc.feminism and feminism will be approaching >non-existent. My apologies, but I am rather offended by this set of remarks. It took me several reads to understand just what it was that raised my hackles, but I think that I have it more-or-less pinned down:: A COMPLETE definition of feminism can not be based ONLY on women's opinions. The impressions and opinions of the (radical in one direction) Woman Who Rants At Men Who Hold Doors are important, but likely to be a bit jaded, do you not think?? As important is the opinion of the (radical in the other direction) Man Who Thinks That Women Are Brainless Baby Factories for he presents a perspective on the forces that come to bear on the Woman Who... I accept, though I am too young to have seen much of the Women's Movement, The opinions and attitudes that I have seen from many women, their defensiveness when their abilities or perogatives are slighted, but that does not mean that the opinions of the men around them are valuless. I feel that your post denies any validity to Men's perspectives on Women. and I am unhappy that you feel that men are so far away from women that they are incapable of responsible attitudes. My tirade is over. Thank you for your open ears and minds. -- (ME)-<> asr@beach.cis.ufl.edu (aka zelig@oak.circa.ufl.edu) "Bones, help this man, He's hurt!" <-> <-> "Dammit, Jim, I'm a DOCTOR, not a.... Oh, yeah."