OPINION
A couple of weeks ago on the back of International Women’s Day, I wrote about my celebrations and reflections on women and girls. I received a lot of feedback, most of it positive and surprisingly mostly from men, thanking me for celebrating them at the end of my column. It got me thinking about our men and boys. It got me listening to the great Celia Lashlie and the challenges our boys go through. It got me having different conversations with our dads, educators and boys and men about where they fit in.
Are we leaving our boys and men behind as we strive for women’s rights? Have our males lost their voice as we seek gender equality? Would a male be shouted down for even asking these questions in today’s world? It often feels like our boys and men have to apologise first for their gender and privilege before even being able to enter into a debate.
Focusing on the struggles of men and boys does not take away from the struggle of women and girls. It is all relative. I consider myself a feminist and will stick up for women’s rights every chance I get – but I don’t feel I have to drag men down to see women lifted up.
However, I have been reflecting on my own words and behaviour over the last couple of weeks and have definitely found that my jokes are often at the expense of men. I get away with saying gendered jokes that, if reversed, a male would be thought of very negatively. I haven’t raised a son, only a daughter – although I am raising my husband. See, reverse that, if my husband said he was raising his wife it would read very badly. Me funny. Him bad.