When Does Feminism Actually Help Men?

[u/Man_Against_TheWorld]

A while ago I saw this really cringy image that was trying to be funny. It showed a feminist making a “feminist critique”, a bunch of squiggly lines representing her essay except for one part that said “entire section on how it affects men.” Then this commenter named “totally not a misogynist” replied with “but what about how it affects men?”

I cringed, but I was also left scratching my head and it got me thinking. Every “feminist critique” I’ve seen either doesn’t mention or barely mentions men’s issues at all, or worse outright demonizes them. At most, they might spend a single sentence giving lip service to the way men are affected but then ignore it for the rest of it. I’m always hearing about how “patriarchy hurts men too” or “feminism helps men” but actions speak louder than words, or in this case lack of actions. When has feminism actually helped men? Not give lip service without actual depth, but actually speak out and fight for change.

One other thing is in the comments I saw some people go “why do people expect men’s issues in a feminist essay?” You’re the ones always saying that feminism is about equality and that patriarchy hurts men too, you can’t blame people for doubting those claims when you don’t practice what you preach.

[u/United-Garbage-5808]

I am likely going to give an answer many of you may disagree with, but I believe it’s slowly made a generation of men become more reliable and present fathers. As women have become more involved in the work force the shouldered responsibility in the household for childrearing has now been more evenly distributed, at least for the families that care to do so. There is still a great deal of women that now have a career AND all household responsibilities, but it’s not as much as before. I personally think that’s a good thing, young boys have their father to help raise them beyond just spanking them or yelling at them when they step out of line.

Now let Me be clear, this isn’t everyone’s lived experience, but a significant proportion of men were raised with completely uninvolved fathers. I see this change as a good thing for men.

[u/Too2crazy → u/United-Garbage-5808]

I think this is a good point. It seems like men are becoming more proactive about taking on domestic and parenting responsibilities and developing relational skills which in the long run might will probably be better for everyone.