Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!ames!elroy!usc!ucla-cs!uci-ics!nige@csd4.milw.wisc.EDU From: nige@csd4.milw.wisc.EDU (Nigel M. Kusch ) Newsgroups: soc.feminism Subject: Re: Can a man be a feminist? Summary: Not as much as a womyn Keywords: To see is to know, to do is to understand Message-ID: <17418@paris.ics.uci.edu> Date: 10 Jun 89 21:01:12 GMT Sender: news@paris.ics.uci.edu Reply-To: "Nigel M. Kusch " Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Lines: 29 Approved: tittle@ics.uci.edu I am most interested in and active in the Lesbian/Gay/Whatever rights movement and in the Feminist movement. As a mostly gay man, I can directly associate myself with the former movement, while as a man, I understand the plight of wimmin, but don't have a first-hand experience with their plight. Thus, I think that men can be supporters of the feminist cause, can work for it, and be interested in it. However, because they have not experienced first-person the oppression on all levels that a womyn must endure as closely as would a womyn, they cannot be feminists in such a true sense as are wimmin. I'm not saying that men need stay out of the movement, I am simply stating that the feminist movement is controlled by, motivated by, and comprised of wimmin FIRST, and supported by men. Any comments? I have little experience with feminism, and need arguments for or against... [NOTE: womyn/wimmin are alternative spellings of woman/women intended to remove the man/men from the words. -- Cindy, staving off a flurry of queries] .--++--.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.--++] NIGE [++--.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.--++--. --.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.--++--.__.-- __] UUCP <...uwmcsd1!uwmcsd4!nige> [ ] Internet [__ --.__.--++--.__.] Bitnet