THAT'S MEN:Men and feminists are not all that far apart
WELL, ARE you put out by the new wave of feminism? The question arises from a comment on Fionola Meredith’s recent report in this newspaper on the revival of feminism in Ireland, with new activist organisations, blogs and Facebook groups springing up.
In The Anti-Room (theantiroom.wordpress.com/) a high-quality blog by Irish female journalists and writers, Anna Carey applauds this development but suggests that Irish men will not be so happy.
“Now to sit back and wait for all the disgruntled letters to the Times declaring that men are the real oppressed group and why aren’t these women devoting themselves to men’s issues as well and why are these terrifying gender supremacists getting space in the paper blah, blah, blah . . .” she writes.
The anticipated surge of male disgruntlement hasn't happened, though. Either that, or Irish Timesfeministas are saving the men's letters for bonfire night.
Still, Carey puts her finger on an interesting development. Many reforms promoted by feminists in the 1970s and 1980s were welcomed by many, though not all, men. Then something happened. The image of “terrifying gender supremacists” as Carey puts it, seemed to grow among men – and some women. The stereotyped image of the bra-burning feminist took over from that of the hard-working campaigner who slogged away to get a better deal for women.
That better deal often benefited men too. For instance, many of today’s men, whose mothers were left to rear them on their own, had better childhoods because feminists had fought for improved support for lone parents. Today’s young men and women benefited from the battle for equal pay and rights in the workplace through growing up in households with incomes higher than would otherwise have been the case.
It can also be argued that the influx of married women into the workforce contributed hugely to the economic growth of the country. It wasn’t their fault that we managed to blow the boom. As journalist June Caldwell points out, also in The Anti-Room, “the entire environment in which the Celtic Tiger blackguards operated was exceptionally macho”.
Caldwell, who has a wicked way with words, goes on to paint the picture: “Places like Baggot Street were full of young geezers guffawing over caramelised scallops in the Unicorn during ‘very important’ business lunches. Down at the financial services district there was a swagger in the way the men used to walk, talk, and conduct themselves.”
Oh yes, I certainly recall hearing, from men who worked in that setting, of the swagger of guys who thought, for a brief few years, that they were Masters of the Universe. Lots of men, I think, would agree that testosterone-fuelled craziness was a factor in some of the regrettable decisions made by bankers. And lots would agree that having more women at key decision-making levels might have helped to curb the enthusiasm for idiotic products.
What I’m saying here is that men and feminists are not as far apart as Carey might think. Actually, feminists and feminism probably seem to most men to be phenomena that belong to social history and something they don’t need to think about very much.
What the new feminists have to fear most in my opinion is this: to vast swathes of young women the exact same is true. To them, feminism is history in the same way that, say, 1916 is history and that you don’t really need to rerun either of them.
Feminists have a great record in fighting for better social services, better rights and better pay and I believe we will all benefit from the work of the new movement described by Fionola Meredith. But it is the indifference of women, not the hostility of men that the new feminists will have to fight to overcome.
Padraig O'Morain is a counsellor accredited by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. His book, Light Mind - Mindfulness for Daily Living, is published by Veritas. His monthly mindfulness newsletter is free by e-mail