Posted February 9, Reviewed by Jessica Schrader. In the s, it became apparent that women needed a strong social movement to support them and help them access socioeconomic and political power.
Feminism did just that. Although many inequities remain between the genders, feminism has helped to open many doors in business, politics , and education. It offered men a valuable opportunity to take their maturing seriously.
I was lucky to be one of the men who benefited and continue to do so 30 years later. One reason is that feminism did not make a paradigm shift in power. Women wanted the entitlement to benefit from holding socioeconomic and political power with men. This power shift was reflected in the theme of loss being the initial focus of the gatherings. We explored the losses we experienced as sons, lovers, friends, workers, and veterans.
Because of this initial focus being loss, many of us moved closer to meeting our broken hearts. This enabled us to shift away from defining manhood as stoic, competitive, independent, and unflappable. Many of us began allowing ourselves to be touched and moved, feel vulnerable, ask for help, take a stand for what we believed while listening to those holding different beliefs, and accept the mystery of manhood and the apprenticeship it calls for.
Here are some contrasting features between personal power and socioeconomic and political power. Because of our devotion to the latter expression of power, many males will be challenged actually to see the aspects of personal power as real power. I am concerned that women who have benefited from the efforts of feminism may forget about personal power as they strive to compete with men.
