Why don't more men speak out for women's rights?

I know many men, myself included, who like to think they treat women as human beings with equal rights and sexual agency. I know very few of these men have spoken out publicly in support of women's rights, myself included before now.

Is it enough to just personally "be a good guy"? I do not think so. In a perfect world, men would not have to speak out in support of women's rights just like women would not have to. Because women would have equal rights in this perfect world. The right to not be raped. The right to not be drugged. The right to not be sexually harassed. The right to equal pay for equal work. The right to political representation. The list goes on.

Am I mansplaining this?

You see, what the ladies need is a man to swoop on in here and explain this feminism stuff :)

I hope I can navigate the shoals of being a cisgender white male talking about feminism and women's rights without totally embarrassing myself. I am not an expert in feminist theory nor a particularly politically active individual. I am pretty acutely aware of my male privilege. I am absolutely willing to stop and listen and I invite a conversation in the comments.

This next bit is directed at the fellas

You may not think you are privileged. You may in fact point to things in your life as reasons that you are not privileged. The truth is on a daily basis you have many privileges based on your male gender, and the privilege of being unaware of your male privilege is actually one of them. While male privilege extends so far beyond "just" sexual assault, I do not think you have to look farther than rape to settle this male privilege debate.

One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives

Did you ever think of not being raped as a privilege? Isn't that fucked up?

91% of the victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and 9% are male

In eight out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the person who sexually assaulted them

Male privilege is real, and one of those privileges is not having to be afraid of a man following you and sexually assaulting you, or a male "friend" sexually assaulting you. But these are just the most blindingly obvious examples. Do check out this more comprehensive list of male privileges with sources.

So you are aware of your male privilege... what now?

I think an important first step for any man to take is to listen to the women in his life. Guys the bad news is that every woman you know can tell you a story about times she has had to deal with male privilege in a negative sense. The good news is you can listen and learn.

You can also speak out in support of women yourself. I have two sons age 3 and 1. I would love for there to be more positive male role models for them. If you have children yourself, take a look at the boys and girls toys and clothes the next time you are at the store. Shoot, look at Amazon. There are so many systems working together in our society to enforce normative gender roles of aggressive masculinity and submissive femininity. It is not enough to just be a good guy in the face of this. It is going to take action by men and women alike to bring change. Guys I call on you to take action by publicly supporting women and women's rights.

Manlistening

I know the #womenspeakout movement is about a lot more than just speaking out against sexual assault. I am here to listen to the women of the Steem blockchain and the women of planet Earth beyond, and I am here to support. I am not here to stand behind you or in front of you. I am not here to tell you how to do it. I am here to stand next to you and look across to you.

I want to thank in particular @limabeing for calling me out in the most delightful way I could imagine and @katrina-ariel for kicking off the #womenspeakout posting.

Putting my STEEM/SBD where my mouth is

I delegated 200 SP today to @teamgirlpowa in support of women posting on Steem. I pledge 100% of the SBD payout of this post to @teamgirlpowa as well. Don't be shy with the upvotes :)

Why Team Girl Powa?

Team Girl Powa is awesome and inclusive and 100% worthy of support. From the Team Girl Powa "Community Guidelines" (posted in #why-girl-power in the Team Girl Powa Discord server):

This is a group of awesome human beings that support and respect women. We as a group and individuals are expected to believe in and openly support this concept, the value of girl power, gender equality, race equality, lgbtqinb rights, and be open to helping empower women.

I know this to be true and am proud to support Team Girl Powa!

Much love - Carl