Profeminist Research Articles

On the Logic of Islamic Feminism: A case study of Minangkabaunese Matrilineality

This article aims to seek (1) a new meaning of Islamic feminism and (2) its logical structure whether traditional or modern in its nature. I will examine Etin Anwar’s distinction between ‘Islamic feminism’ and ‘Muslim feminism’ and discuss the potential of self-ownership for developing arguments in favor of gender justice. While Anwar’s definition of Islamic feminism excludes male feminists in such a way, I argue that it is not strategic for gender justice, and it would be necessary to adopt self-ownership into the discourse of Islamic feminism instead. This suggestion manifests in the Minangkabau matrilineal setting, in which case men share their self-ownership with their wives, mothers, and sisters due to the institution of bundo kanduang. As a consequence, Minangkabaunese Muslim men shoulder some extra filial duties but enjoy nothing from the inheritance division. I also conducted several in-depth interviews with some experts concerning this issue. The upshot is that Islamic feminism should be inclusive of male feminists, and it should pay attention to the modern logic of dialetheia instead of the traditional logic.

A Study of Korean Protestant Male Feminists’ Experiences of LGBTQ+ Support in South Korea

A Study of Korean Protestant Male Feminists’ Experiences of LGBTQ+ Support in South Korea

Male Ulama Reinterpretation of the Gender Hadith in Indonesian Socio Cultural Contexts

It is very important to reread and reinterpret of the religious texts related to gender and women's issues by considering the socio-cultural context of Muslim communities. This article focuses on discussing Qira’ah Mubadalah or reciprocal interpretation initiated by Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir, a male feminist ulama who was influenced by the empirical reality of Indonesian Muslim society. With a qualitative approach, the data in this article were obtained from the Qira’ah Mubadalah book and the Mubadalahi.id website. This article finds that the idea of Mubadalah with the concepts and principles of mutuality and partnership between men and women is based on religious texts which place men and women as the subjects of the text. Narratives about women's involvement at the beginning of Islam in the 7th century and the role of Indonesian women in the educational, social and political fields since the 17th century have become the spirit and inspiration to fight for gender equality. In the hadith of the Prophet, the basic principles of mutuality are based on the values of brotherhood, commitment to doing well, compassion, mutual communication and helping each other. Furthermore, to find the principles and values of mutuality and partnership between men and women in Islamic teachings, a thematic study was carried out by referring to the Quran and other hadiths of the same theme, understanding the text contextually and inclusively, considering the validity of the hadith, and refers to authoritative hadith books. The involvement of men in rereading religious texts is more easily accepted by the Muslim community because it is not confrontational, does not criticize but rather provides alternative interpretation options that are accommodating to differences in interpretation among Muslims. Rereading of gender-just religious texts needs to be done as a prerequisite for realizing a just and equal society for men and women in the Muslim community.

ANALISIS MALE FEMINIS DAN KONTRA MALE FEMINIS NOVEL ANA CRITA ING PINGGIRE TEBON KARYA TULUS SETIYADI

<p><em>This study is a descriptive qualitative research that’s aims to analysis male feminists and counter male feminists in the novel Ana Crita ing Pinggire Tebon by </em>Tulus Setiyadi. <em>Based on the content of the story that tells the life of the life of the character </em>Wiyani<em> is influenced by male characters, the novel is suitable to be studied with the study of feminism, espeially male feminists and counter male feminists. The data in the research are words, phrases, and sentences that are excerpts from the novel Ana Crita ing Pinggire Tebon. This research uses purposive sampling techniwue, data collection by means of document analysis. The validity test technique was carried out with theoritical triangulation and data source triangulation. The data analysis technique used was interactive analysis, with the sequence of data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The results of the analysis in the study can be concluded that the caracters classified as male feminists are </em>Pak<em> </em>Dali, Kicuk, Somad<em>,</em> Kumagrenks, <em>and</em> Kondektur. <em>While those classified as counter male feminists are </em>Sulinggo, Togut, Pak Bentu, Ko Bien, Sastropedo, <em>and</em> Ahmad.</p>

“A male feminist walks into a bar, because it was set so low: The pedestal effect and the economy of gratitude in feminist spaces”

AbstractMen in feminist spaces often find themselves the recipients of disproportionate gratitude and attention—along with other persistent effects of male privilege that I have elsewhere termed the Pedestal Effect—despite this running counter to both prevailing feminist ideologies and the desires of the men themselves. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild described a similar economy of gratitude wherein low expectations led to heightened valuation of married men's household contributions, smuggling inequities from the wider society into the marriage and inhibiting progressive change even if both parties desired a more egalitarian partnership. By applying Hochschild's framework to interview data from 52 men and 12 women active in the field, I show that the same process explains the troubling continuance of male privilege in feminist spaces: while interviewees of all genders problematize the imbalanced economy of gratitude and many have attempted specific counterstrategies, it nonetheless persists in importing inequalities, undermining men's accountability, and inhibiting desired progressive change. This suggests that the economy of gratitude may be a ubiquitous interactional process that reproduces inequalities across a wide range of social contexts. I emphasize that the economy of gratitude is in fact intersectional, not only gendered, and introduce the idea of a “low bar” to more fully account for the broad range of social influences on expectation‐setting.

Feminism Is forBeginners: Learning from Straight Men Doing Queer Feminism

This essay argues for the importance of cisgender straight male perspectives to contemporary feminist theory and practice. I identify four lessons to be learned from what I call male affirmative feminist theory written by people of all genders, defined as any feminist thought that considers cis men critical interlocutors to feminism and legitimate subjects of gender and sexual freedom projects. These lessons include the value of androgynous thinking; the necessity of anti-essentialist approaches to male gender; the importance of understanding nonviolent and anti-sexist male perspectives on gender dynamics; and the potential queer investment that cis straight men might have in feminist politics, namely the freedom from heteronormative policing. I offer an intellectual genealogy of cis male contributions to feminist thought, followed by a close reading of Mike Mills's Academy Award–winning film Beginners (2010). The movie presents a visual account of straight male masculinity as it is positively impacted and influenced by feminist and queer perspectives, without necessarily becoming them. The film makes a powerful male feminist argument for the value of “beginning,” asking what feminist and left social justice projects might gain by splitting their gaze between a focus on failed relations across gendered difference—grounded in the seemingly endless betrayal of women and queers by straight cis men—and a productive openness to the inauguration of unexpected relationships between all gendered subjects.

Entering the archive of second‐wave trans feminist print culture: The journal of male feminism

AbstractCommon stories of second‐wave feminism equate the period either explicitly or by reference to its presumed biological essentialism, with trans‐exclusionary feminism. This article deep‐dives into issues published between 1977 and 1979 of the Journal of Male Feminism, an underground newsletter for a predominantly North American‐based male‐to‐female (M‐T‐F) cross‐dressing community. It argues that these texts contain a rich set of theoretical resources and nuanced perspectives on sex and gender developed by trans people in the 1970s and therefore deserve to be read as part of an expanded canon of second‐wave feminism.

Child Marriage in Male-Feminist: Contextual Qur’anic Interpretation

Child marriage has happened in several regions that apply a Patriarchal culture. It causes an increase in the Indonesian population. Besides, it also impacts when getting married at teenage age, such as the occurrence of domestic violence. It may be worst and may cause many deaths of children and mothers. In the concept of gender equality, the ideal marriage comes from the harmonious cooperation between husband and wife. Therefore, stopping child marriage is not easy. It is due to educational, social, economic, and cultural factors. This research uses a literature study with a qualitative approach that analyses the concept of feminist hermeneutics. The Qur'an does not directly mention the age limits for marriage, but An Nisa 'verse 6 gives a hint related to marriage. This research focuses on the comparative interpretation of the contextual male feminists’ criticism, namely KH. Husein Muhammad and KH. MA. Sahal Mahfud. The results of this research examine that child marriage according to KH. Husein Muhammad is still happening in society because of culture. Then, children should marry with the requirement that they have reached puberty and have mental and physical readiness in line with KH. Sahal Mahfudh suggestion revealed that mujbir's guardians might marry their children. However, it requires permission and approval from prospective adult women. It is very important because if the woman has no inner and outer consent, the marriage carried out will be very dangerous.

A male feminist walks into a bar: male feminist capital and the “bloke turn” in feminism

ABSTRACT In Western societies, feminisms are being taken up in new and exciting ways. We are seeing a range of feminisms being expressed in the mainstream media and through alternative sites. A unique aspect of contemporary Western feminism is the take up by men, particularly those with profiles in public life and the media, and how this can build male feminist capital. This “bloke turn” has been welcomed by some as sign of the building of alliances for the feminist project; however, it has also been criticised as an encroachment on women’s spaces by men. Through case studies of three high-profile men occupying media spaces—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian television host Karl Stefanovic, and British actor Benedict Cumberbatch—this paper examines how men who identify as feminism-friendly are positioning themselves in this emerging terrain.

William Dubois’s Sociology of Empowerment, and Black Male Feminism, As a Source of Black Women Empowerment

Famous for black feminism, Sociology of Empowerment, and Black Female Emancipation, glorified inside his very celebrated Museum exhibits, that includes the multimedia representations inherited inside the freedom of Speech, Vote, and debates around the discrimination of Black Females: “Du Bois’s limited views of black women, inhibit his ability to imagine African American women, as race leaders”. Du Bois adopts a paternalistic stance, as he simultaneously admires, and pities black womanhood. The black women characters he presents in The Souls of Black Folk, are predominantly struggling, overburdened, physically attractive women, who are nevertheless able to support black men. McCaskill notes, “Paradoxically, African-American jmen were impressed into a patriarchy, that disclaimed women’s equality to men, in the political, and professional spheres, while simultaneously mythologizing this same sisterhood’s moral, and domestic superiority, over their brothers (p. 23)”. Du Bois’s descriptions of Black women, unintentionally, re-inscribed patriarchal ideals, as he sought racial equality. This research focuses onto the important notion of Black feminism, that William DuBois was the ancestor, to the Black Feminist movement. These ideas are confirmed, inside the Empirical results, that are based on analyses of opinions, about the DuBois’s influence in the Contemporary, by Youth Sociologists.

G. B. Shaw: A Male Feminist

G. B. Shaw: A Male Feminist

Feminist concern of Girish Karnad Novel: Nagamandala

This present paper attempts to critically analyse the selected novel of Girish Karnad _Nagamandala. Girish Karnad, as a dramatist, is free from any such feminist tags and like Shashi Deshpande, an Indian woman novelist, treats ‘woman as a woman’ and as ‘a human being’. As a male feminist, he has treated the feminist issues like child marriage, loveless marriage, exploitation of wife in the hands of husband, double standards of society and law operating against her in the society etc. It also expresses the hollowness and injustice of patriarchal society. He insists that it is not patriarchy but matriarchy which is essential for society. Thus, the refined sensibilities of woman like love, sex, compassion and tolerance make her unsurpassable in the society. The pride of woman also finds a space in his play Naga Mandala.

Male Feminists Promote Gender Equality in Islamic Moderation Perspective

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between the role of men in supporting the feminist movement and moderate Islamic teachings among college students in Indonesia. This study used a quantitative approach by distributing questionnaires to 625 respondents who were randomly selected. The independent variable used, namely religious moderation, was measured using four indicators: a sense of nationalism (X1), tolerance (X2), anti-violence (X3), and accommodative attitudes towards local culture (X4). This study examined multiple linear regression analysis to test whether the four problems in Islamic moderation were related to student attitudes towards male involvement in feminism. The results suggested that these four independent variables have a positive and significant effect on student attitudes towards the active role of men in supporting the gender equality movement. Furthermore, an accommodative attitude towards the local culture and a sense of nationalism were known to have the greatest and smallest effects, namely 0.28 and 0.15 respectively. These results indicate that moderate Muslims tend to have a greater acceptance of male feminists. Then, the results also indicated that Muslim students who practised moderate Islamic teachings had realized the importance of male involvement in feminism.

The Origins of Emancipation and Feminism in 19th Century India: Bengalese Experience

The development of feminism and women’s emancipation in colonial India shows various trajectories and inner sources of the process within the regions occupied by a ‘larger society’ going through modernization. The first variant appeared in colonial Bengal — a peripheral region relative to the center of Brahminical order and a place where Indian and Western culture conjoined back in the 18–19th centuries. A system of rigid constraints of women’s freedom and rights emerged within the local patriarchal society, especially in the high strata, coming from a perspective of ritual purity and men’s ‘safety’. Women themselves were bearers of traditional consciousness with stereotypes and prejudices, and they were deprived the possibility to take part in their destinies as well as social life outside of a family. Based on the works of social reformers and intellectuals, the author describes the Bengalese variant of the origins of feminism and emancipation. The primary social actor of the process was the male feminist, who publicly proclaimed ideas of women’s rights and tried to improve the lives of women through reforms. The reformatory movements led by leaders from Rammohun Roy to Keshubchandra Sen turned out to be the first wave of the emancipation process; their activity promoted the circumstances for family and social emancipatory practices. The second wave was associated with women finally becoming active and starting to speak for themselves. The main factors that stimulated their activeness were literacy and education, along with support of their aspirations of behalf of men.

Theatricality of women’s voice: An Embarrassing Position by Kate Chopin

The paper offers an analysis of An Embarrassing Position, the only extant and not very well-known theatre play by Kate Chopin. Even though it is only one-act-long, the play does not only contribute to the greatness of the artistry of the author, but it also subtly and wittily raises the question of societal imbalance and women’s right to self-deciding. Hence, the aim of this paper is both to expose the theatricality of women’s voice embedded in the play validating women’s stance and foretelling women’s emancipation, and to bring the play to the broader attention of academics as a unique, still underexamined, work of Chopin. In order to establish this light comedy play within a serious domain of women’s rights struggle, as well as to inscribe this short piece of work into the long list of Chopin’s writings which are pro feminist in their overtone, the paper uses hermeneutic analysis with elements of Derrida’s deconstructionist theory of différance, and employs Carl Jung’s idea of synchronicity. Derrida’s deconstruction serves to uncover the inner inconsistencies residing within the humorous lines of the play, whereas synchronicity provides the scaffold for the play’s events that bonds the analysis elements into one meaningful whole.

Fervour for Femocracy Reflected in the Works of George Bernard Shaw: A Study of His Plays with Reference to the Synergising Feminist and Democratic Ideologies

It is the truth universally acknowledged that conventionality is not morality. All that is accepted may not be absolute every time but could just be a time bound adjustment to make the ‘system’ work in itself at a particular period. But as time changes, the laws, rules, or socio- economic codes which permeated one particular era, may stand obsolete for another phase of time; the blow to it always comes in the form of reaction expecting one to retrospect over the existing dichotomy as well as change in the system to meet the changing needs of time. Some may take a safer stance by operating within the system to make it work in itself as well as to keep themselves floating while some may abrogate the norms to change the foundations and re- construct the whole order to adapt to the new surroundings. George Bernard Shaw (26th July 1856-2nd November, 1950) belongs to the second band of reactionists, who will not mind bearing wrath of socio- Cultural temper to unveil hard core reality. A non- conformist ‘naughty nineties' writer of partly Victorian era and basically early twentieth century created a new vista through his ‘unpleasant’ plays by focusing the basis of society in his attempt “ to take literatures seriously,” the fact pinpointed by his later successor T. S. Eliot; as a committed dramatist, he ‘strip (ped) the ragged follies of the time. Naked, as at their birth and with a whip of steel, print (ed) wounding lashes in the iron ribs.’ If, for him, ‘every great truth commences with blasphemy,’ Shaw's blatant attack did not spare anything and anyone right from slum landlordism, quackery, false notions of Valour, prostitution, idealization of feminity and all. In his propagandist mission to expose all evils, His fervour for ‘femocracy’ is grabbing attention even in the twenty first century and makes him win unequivocally, the label of ‘ Male feminist’ along with being an ‘odd-man- out' to his own milieu. The term, a geological compounding of ‘ female’ and ‘ cracy' and so ‘women’s rule’s has been interchangeably used for women Empowerment and women’s era has been a buzzword in intellectual as well as ‘socialete' circle in today’s time. Shaw, in his fierce endeavour to withdraw women from the stock image of ‘angel in the house’, undoubtedly becomes the recipient of ‘femocrat' tag.

What does it mean to be a feminist MP? A comparative analysis of the Swedish and Danish parliaments

The issue of whether political interests are gendered, and if so, how, has been a recurrent theme in research. While there have been several attempts recently to address gendered political interests theoretically, the central concept of feminism has not been explored in any depth in this context. This article uses unique data pertaining to self-identification as a “feminist” MP, and explores how it relates to gender, party and certain policy issues previously connected to women in Sweden and Denmark. The two neighboring countries both have a high representation of women, but while the Swedish government called itself “feminist,” this was unthinkable in the Danish case. Our main finding is that in both countries male feminist MPs deviate from their female counterparts by not supporting “acting for women” which indicates a separate and gendered understanding of what being a male feminist implies. However, no strong association addressing intrinsic feminist male concerns such as parental leave, was found. Another possibility could be that male feminists refrain from taking agency from females, which the “acting for” option could imply. We conclude that the concept of “acting for women” needs to be abducted from its central stance in feminism as a category of representation to mirror the multifaceted contemporary landscape.

Black Male Feminism and the Evolution of Du Boisian Thought, 1903–1920

Black Male Feminism and the Evolution of Du Boisian Thought, 1903–1920 Nneka D. Dennie (bio) W. E. B. Du Bois begins and ends his 1903 essay "The Talented Tenth" with a single statement: "The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men."1 He continues, "The college-bred Negro … is, as he ought to be, the group leader, the man who sets the ideals of the community where he lives, directs its thoughts and heads its social movements."2 These were not simply rhetorical claims, but gendered declarations of Du Bois's conceptualization of race leadership and racial progress. Similar statements abound throughout his early work, particularly in The Souls of Black Folk (1903). As Du Bois discusses the possibility of black people and white people living together in a peaceful and just society, he contends that "it will demand broadminded, upright men, both white and black, and in its final accomplishment American civilization will triumph."3 In addition to portraying black men as responsible for determining the fate of the race, Du Bois normalizes "the Negro" as a masculine figure. He does not do so in a purely symbolic sense, but rather in order to present a model of African American education, self-consciousness, and leadership that revolves around black men. Because Du Bois universalizes African Americans as predominantly male, he is unable to analyze the nuanced lived experiences of black women, and he cannot fully theorize how their oppression is distinct from that of black men. It is evident from the rhetoric and content of Du Bois's works that earlier in his career, he constructed a masculinist framework for overcoming racism.4 Du Bois's later writings, however, offer black male feminist interpretations of racism and sexism. [End Page 1] In "The Damnation of Women," a chapter from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil, Du Bois exemplifies his ability to use intersectional approaches to critique an oppression that is not his own. He establishes that "despite the noisier and more spectacular advance of [his] brothers, [he] instinctively feel[s] and know[s] that it is the five million women of [his] race who really count."5 Du Bois provides a detailed analysis of the inequalities between black women, white women, and black men. He envisions a world where we will pay women what they earn and insist on their working and earning it; we will allow those persons to vote who know enough to vote, whether they be black or female, white or male; and we will ward race suicide, not by further burdening the over-burdened, but by honoring motherhood, even when the sneaking father shirks his duty.6 In "The Damnation of Women," Du Bois readily discusses black women and the connections between racial and gendered oppressions. By 1920, Du Bois's positions on gender had greatly shifted. Therefore, this article describes how and why Du Bois's theorizing of black women's oppression transformed between 1903 and 1920. Although Du Bois authored a significant body of work, few studies consider how Du Bois's feminism evolved over time. David Levering Lewis's biographies examine the trajectory of Du Bois's political thought throughout his career, but they do not devote significant attention to the changing manifestations of Du Bois's gender-progressive thought.7 While scholars including Joy James and Farah Jasmine Griffin have debated the merits of Du Bois's feminism, many base their arguments on either The Souls of Black Folk or "The Damnation of Women."8 An overemphasis on these two texts obscures the ways in which Du Bois's analyses of race and gender changed over time. Susan Gillman and Alys Weinbaum's edited volume, Next to the Color Line: Gender, Sexuality, and W. E. B. Du Bois, offers a variety of perspectives on Du Bois's discussions of race and gender at different points in time.9 However, literature on Du Bois has yet to explore how his understanding of the injustices faced by black women gradually progressed. Therefore, I suggest that it is necessary to consider the trajectory of Du Bois's political thought rather than strictly focusing on...

Male Feminist Allies in West African Fiction: W. E. B. Du Bois and Ethical Pedagogy

Male Feminist Allies in West African Fiction: W. E. B. Du Bois and Ethical Pedagogy

„Muutume masinateks“. Tehnoloogia ja soolistatud kehad ameerika modernismis / “We Twiddle … and Turn into Machines”: Technology and gendered bodies in American modernism

„Muutume masinateks“. Tehnoloogia ja soolistatud kehad ameerika modernismis / “We Twiddle … and Turn into Machines”: Technology and gendered bodies in American modernism