“Understanding men’s participation in
contemporary feminist movements”
Payal Soobug
Department of Sociology
Bachelor thesis in Sociology, 15 h.p Spring Semester 2017
Supervisor: Daniel Ritter
Abstract
Contemporary feminist movements are mixed gendered but men’s participation in them remain low. Many sociological studies have neglected to study men’s role and participation in feminist movements and focused mainly on women’s position. This thesis builds on social movement theories and previous research conducted within this field. This study aims to reveal factors that motivate men’s participation and roles played by them in contemporary feminist movements. Qualitative interviews are used for data collection. The data indicate that men’s role in feminist movements is designated to support the movements. Factors that motivated them to participate in the movements include; rational, network and political motivations.
Key words
Feminist movement, men’s participation, men’s role, role, motivations, social movement, feminism and political participations.
Table of content
Introduction ……….……….1
Purpose and research question……….2
Outline……….2
Definition of social movement and feminist movement……….……3
Previous research………..……..3
Theory……….…..8
Demand and supply………8
Instrumentality………..9
Identity………..……….9
Ideology……….…….9
Rational Choice………..10
Framing……….…………10
Political engagement………..……….…………..11
Network and participation………..11
Methodology……….12
Sampling………13
Ethical concerns……….……….…15
Data analysis……….….16
Result and analysis………17
Men’s role in feminist movements………19
Support………..19
Motivations behind men’s participation……….21
Rational motivations ………..…….21
Network……….23
Political motivations……….……….…25
Concluding discussion………...27
What are men’s role in feminist movements………27
What motivates men to participate in feminist movements……….28
Bibliography……….29
Appendix 1……….33
Appendix 2……….35
Introduction
Feminist movements were founded with the idea to question men’s privilege and alter patriarchal structures in society (Holmgren & Hern, 2009). These movements received both support and retribution from men. Some men found it important to support feminist movements while others responded by forming ‘men’s rights’ movements (Messner, 1997). Holmgren and Hearn (2009:412) mean that men’s inclusion in feminist movements puts them in a contradictory position. Men’s practices are so much ingrained in social relation that their practices are often regarded to reproduce gender inequality and are not gender-conscious (Holmgren & Hern, 2009:404). On the other hand, men’s gender-conscious activities have grown significantly during the past decades and in recent years, international institutions such as the European Union and United Nations have vouched for men’s involvement in gender equality policies (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2002; United nations, 2008).
During the second-wave of feminism a minority group of men fought alongside with women, thereby altering its image. Prior to that, feminist movements were thought as a women’s movement only and by allying with men the movement soon became mixed group. It also alluded to the idea that gender equality is not a women’s fight alone, it is a men’s issue as well.
However, men’s role in the feminist movements became contested and received both criticism and praise from the feminist groups. Some feminists thought that by having men on board would help spread feminist consciousness. This eventually prompted many men to join feminist movements and organising men’s gathering to discuss feminism. Thus, the notion that gender roles are destructive to all genders started to gain approval among male members too. On the other hand, other female feminists were sceptical and thought that by including men in feminist movements would lead to men becoming the centre of feminism. Although men started showing an interest in feminist movements, they still remain a minority. Additionally, none of them would have started a feminist group on their own (De Wolf, 2015:78-79).
Today men’s involvement in feminist movements contains several factors: from questioning their privilege as men in personal and public spheres to participating in collective mobilisation alongside women. This essay does not seek to understand men’s position in feminism but to figure out what motivates them to participate and what are their role in a social movement that
questions their own benefits. This subject is relatively unexplored and this thesis wishes to contribute to the existing corpus.
Purpose and research question
Using qualitative interviews, the purpose of this thesis aims to understand men’s role and their motivations to participate in contemporary feminist movements.
What are men’s role in feminist movements?
What are the main reasons that motivate them to participate in feminist movements?
Outline
Following the brief introduction and the purpose of the thesis a definition of social movement and feminist movement is provided. The previous research section gives an overview on studies that were conducted on men’s role in feminist movements. The previous research section mainly covers men’s role, but De Wolf’s study slightly touches on motivation behind men’s participation. The theory section underlines theories such as; instrumentality, identity, ideology, rational choice, political motivations and network. These theories are relevant to understand factors that induce individuals to participate in social movements. I consider that the selected theories might help understand motivation behind men’s participation in feminist movements.
The fourth section describes the method of data selection that the study has opted for. I also describe how I sampled respondents and ethical issues surrounding qualitative interviews. In the same section a detailed explanation of how the coding process was carried out is given. The analysis and discussion chapter are divided in three parts. The first sums the set of data obtained during the study. The second part discusses men’s role in feminist movements and the third part explores motivations. Lastly, the concluding discussion section consists of a summary of the findings and guidelines are provided on how further research can proceed in this field.
Definition of Social Movement and Feminist Movement
Snow, Soule and Kriesi (2004) define social movement as a collective group driven or unified by one goal which aims to challenge local or international institutions by either bringing or resisting change (Snow, Soule and Kriesi, 2004:10). Social movements are known for germinating collective action, which is essential for their survival. As much emphasis is placed on them, they are also called the benchmark of democracy (Meyer and Tarrow, 1998). Many movements are “episodic” and rarely long-lasting (Snow, Soule and Kriesi, 2004:10). On the other hand, some movements such as the feminist movements which started in the 1920s have persisted across generations and are still seeking change.
Many scholars still debate on which movement can be described as feminist movement.
feminist movements defined by Lerner are characterised by
“The awareness of women that they belong to a subordinate group…that their condition of subordination is not natural, but societally determined…they must and can provide an alternate vision of societal organisation in which women as well as men will enjoy autonomy and self- determination” (Lerner, 1993).
Previous research
Social movement is a popular topic, however, very few research has studied motivations behind men’s participation and roles played by them in feminist movements. Therefore, two previous research grounded on gender and psychological theories done by Demetrakis Demetriou and Jokin Azpiazu Carballo are also referred to. I am aware that even their corpus are useful in analysing men’s role and participation in feminist movements by including previous research other than social movement might increase the risk of rendering social movements theories secondary. I should ascertain that this present study is mainly based on social movement theories and gender and psychological theories are not central in this study.
Women’s right activism was originated as a women’s movement and was mainly organised by them (De Wolf, 2015:78). De Wolf (2015) studies how men contributed to women’s movements in Belgium and France from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. His research shows that men who were enthusiastic about women’s emancipation were usually university educated, had personal contact with feminist movements and were politically left-wing oriented (De Wolf, 2015:77). Men who were members of feminist movements could be divided in two groups. One group included those who did not question their masculinity, as many feminists expected them to do and the other group included those who found it important to question and redefine traditional masculinity (ibid). Those who did not question their masculinity focused only on the structural discrimination that existed towards women, in this way they did not personally held themselves accountable for the existing gender inequality. Many feminists found their support important when fighting for abortion right and violence against women (De Wolf, 2015:90). On the other hand, the group who questioned their masculine identity did activities that were considered feminine. For example, they took care of their children and engaged in household chores (ibid). Those who questioned their own masculinity did so because they wanted to support women in general since they were impressed by the vivacity women showed when they were addressing gender inequality. Moreover, these men wanted to maintain a good relationship with women and therefore deemed it important to question their masculinity (De Wolf, 2015:87). De Wolf’s (2015) research also shows that some men refused to participate in the men’s gathering and preferred fighting for women’s right only alongside women as a strategy to earn some appreciation from their female counterparts (De Wolf, 2015:88).
When men worked together with female feminists they were required not to control or patronise them (ibid). However, their inclusion in feminism gave rise to another issue; feminist groups had to address issues that not only affected women but both genders. By implicating men in feminist groups, it highlighted the fact that not all men were consciously dominating women and many of them were willing to terminate the existing gender inequality (ibid). However, despite men’s implication in feminist movements men’s issues (traditional masculinity) remained secondary in women’s fight (De Wolf, 2015:80). In De Wolf’s (2015) study men’s role in the feminist movements took three forms: they participated in mixed-sex feminist movements, men from other social movements (often left wing) collaborated closely with various feminist movements existing at that time and feminist ideologies inspired discussion in
men’s group (De Wolf, 2015:81). Men’s groups were created with the intention to respect women’s autonomy and space. In those groups, they discussed issues ranging from traditional masculinity, feminism and gender roles (ibid). They also criticised the traditional model of manliness and its consequences on both women and men. They stated that traditional masculinity deprived them from showing emotions that were considered feminine and they also mentioned that they were no longer interested in participating in activities that were male dominated (De Wolf, 2015:84).
It is also important to mention that while some female feminists approved the inclusion of men, some remained critical of it (ibid). Those who were against men’s involvement in feminism argued that men’s involvement in feminist movements would reduce female autonomy and men’s presence will hinder women to vocalise their thoughts. Besides, feminist movements were originated with the ideology to challenge the male-dominated society, so they feared that their ‘battle’ against gender equality might be undermined if men joined their groups (ibid).
Members, mostly women, claimed that they can address their issues without men having to aid them. Additionally, they claimed that men’s participation in feminist movements is contradictory because even if they are for women’s right they are still benefiting from traditional male privilege and patriarchal structures (De Wolf, 2015:79). These points are valid to this thesis because it might show what men keep in mind when participating in feminist movements. Another important aspect De Wolf (2015) highlights in his study is that male feminist-consciousness would not have taken place if women had not challenge the structures at first. And the few men who participated in women’s emancipation were often their husbands or boyfriends (De Wolf, 2015:90). He concludes that men participated in feminist movements and activities because they considered women’s rights as basic social right and part of a larger political project. It also gave them a reasons to reflect upon their own male identity (De Wolf, 2015:85).
De Wolf’s (2015) study highlights another important factor. Men who were members of a socialist or left-wing political parties and who participated in feminist movements addressed feminist questions from a socialist standpoint. They meant that the existing disparity between genders was a result of capitalist and consumerism structures. Thus, they thought that changing those structures would alter the present inequalities between genders (De Wolf, 2015:86). Some of them clearly expressed that it is difficult to achieve equality between genders if they do not question society at large (ibid). Therefore, they considered it of utter importance to include
class-struggle within feminism as well and considered fighting for equality as their lifelong mission (De Wolf, 2015:87). Other studies (McAdam, 1999; Goldstone and McAdam 2001) show that being an active member in a movement might have lifelong consequences on the members’ life. This is known as personal and biographical consequences (ibid). A follow-up studies of people who actively participated in New Left political parties show that even years after they had stopped participating in those movements they continued to identify themselves with the movements (ibid). Personal and biographical consequences might explain why members who belonged to feminist movements considered it their lifelong duty to fight for women’s right.
Another research carried out by Jessica Baily (2015) investigates how some female feminists view men’s relationship to feminism and what are men’s roles in feminist movements.
Although this research may seem similar to the current one, it is important to note that Bailey’s research explores this question from female feminists’ standpoint, while this present study tackles the same question from males’ perspectives. The research is based on interviews and group discussions where female feminists discussed men’s role in feminist movements. All the interviewees agreed that for feminism to progress it important to involve men in it (Baily, 2015:448). They mentioned that patriarchy and masculine norms are harmful to men and by including men and masculinity within feminism has helped shape contemporary feminist movements (Baily, 2015:451). The research also illustrates that (just as De Wolf’s study) female feminists had different views towards men’s inclusion in feminist movements. Some respondents affirmed that men should share equal space as women while other argued that it is vital for women to work separately from men (ibid). They maintained that women needed their own space where they could discuss delicate issues such as sexuality, body image and sexual violence without the presence of men (Baily, 2015:453). Moreover, Taylor (1998) finds that in a mixed-gender setting men tend to occupy a more dominant space compared to their female counterparts. All in all, Bailey identifies three ways that men were involved in feminist movements (Baily, 2015:453). Firstly, men always took orders from women in the movement.
Secondly, men had equal roles as their female counterparts. Finally, men worked with other men’s groups to discuss feminism (ibid). Some interviewees maintained that the movements should be led by women because of their first-hand experiences of gender-based oppression.
Although men in general felt challenged by the second wave feminism some men thought that by participating in feminist movements would give them the possibilities to challenge gender
roles in society and to also reflect upon gender power relations (Baily, 2015:445). These findings may be helpful to the current project as it identifies men’s role in feminist movements.
As previously stated, studies on social movements have neglected to analyse men’s role and what motivates them to participate in feminist movements. Studies involving men’s participation in feminism have been mainly studied from gender and psychological perspectives. Despite not focusing from a social movement theoretical perspective, these studies provide a foundation for further research within social movement. Themes such as identity, group consciousness and masculinity are used to understand men’s participation and these themes are recurrent within social movement too.
In trying to understand men’s attitude towards feminism, the term “hegemonic masculinity”
and “new masculinity” prove useful (Demetriou, 2001). The former concept generally refers to the dominance of men over women and practices that guarantee their dominance (Demetriou, 2001:341). The latter refers to men who voluntarily change and redefine their roles from the traditional male to “the new man” or “new masculinity”. The term “New masculinities” has created a new group identity because they define and view themselves and specially their gender roles differently compared to traditional men (Azpiazu, 2015:6). Furthermore, when partaking in feminist activities the “new men” have to form a new identity which is more acceptable by female feminists in order to fit in their group (Azpiazu, 2015:7). However in De Wolf’s study (2015), he observes that some men who participated in feminist activities never questioned gender roles or even their position in society. Their main struggle consisted on legal and social reform such as abortion and birth control rights (De Wolf, 2015:86). When discussing and fighting for those factors they never found it important to question their privilege and instead of fighting purely for women’s emancipation they viewed it as a struggle for both genders. That was why many feminists were doubtful of males’ participation in a movement where they were least expected (ibid).
Even in groups where men identified themselves as “the new men” manhood remained an integral part of their identification (Azpiazu, 2015). There are diverse motives behind men willingness to change. The main motive is that they feel they have a moral obligation to do so.
Other motivations are linked to opportunity and advantages. Men changing their traditional masculinity is regarded as beneficial to all genders and might be seen as a potential incentive to increase men’s participation in feminism (Azpiazu, 2015:8).
Theory
This section gives an overview of theories that have been meticulously used by movement scholars when studying participation in social movement. When analysing social movements in general scholars have focused on demand and supply (this includes instrumentality, identity and ideology), rational choice, framing, political engagement and network theories. The theories do not specifically talk about why men participate in feminist movements or their role in the movements, however by understanding why people in general participate in social movements may help understand the purpose of the thesis.
Demand and supply
Participation in social movement takes numerous form from signing petitions, monetary donations and participating in street demonstration (Klandermans, 2004). From a socio- psychological vantage point participation in social movements is motivated by different dynamics (Klandermans, 2004:360). To understand dynamics behind participation the popular metaphor used in economics known as the “demand and supply” proves useful. Demand in this context means that every society is potentially capable of mobilising its citizens which in return creates a demand for protest. Demand encompasses phenomena such as grievance and collective identity. The term supply stands for the opportunities such as the ideologies and effectiveness of the movements staged by protest organisers. People base their motivation to participate on the demand-side. Klandermans (2004) posits that participants motivate their participations on three reasons (Klandermans, 2004:361). Firstly, individuals are willing to alter their current situations. Secondly, they desire to form part in a certain group. Thirdly, being a member of a group provides as a platform to express their feelings (ibid). Social movements are said to offer an opportunity to materialise these motivations. Klandermans (2004) further refers to these three factors as instrumentality, identity and ideology. From a macro perspective instrumentality refers to resource mobilisation and political process and from a micro perspective the term refers to rational choice theory. Whereby identity stands for collective identity meaning participants partake in social movements in-order to form their identification with a group (Klandermans, 2004:362). Ideology means that participants are motivated to
express their views and feelings about some issues. This term is related to morality, emotion and cultural factors (ibid). These three variables can either be dependent or independent. In other words, participants may base their motivations to participate on only one the motivations, or on all three of them. For instance, if one participant is driven by the identity factor it may subsequently strengthen the ideological motivations (Klandermans, 2004:363).
Instrumentality
It is generally stated that people participate in social movements because they are aggrieved.
However, in the 1970s scholars found that participants do not motivate their participation as such (McAdam,1982). McAdam (1982) postulates that motivations behind participation can be seen as both rational and irrational. Individuals participate in social movements because they are certain that by doing so they can alter the existing political structures to their benefit. True that grievance plays an important role but participation based on grievance only is inadequate to explain participation (Klandermans, 2004:363).
Identity
Apart from being driven by instrumentality, participation in social movements may be driven by the idea that participants want to belong to a group (Klandermans, 2004:364). Therefore, collective identity means that participants strongly identify themselves with a group and are ready to engage in a collective political action with that group (ibid).
Ideology
Movement scholars found that participation is also motivated by the idea that participants want to express their views and feeling towards existing structures (Klandermans, 2004:365). By participating in a group, they not only express their sentiments but it also helps them gain dignity and morality in their lives (ibid).
Rational choice
Olson’s (1965:2) theory suggests that because participants are rational actors they only participate if there is enough incentive for them. Moreover, they participate only if they are fully convinced that their participation will have an impact and that they have the resources to create that impact (Olson, 1965:2-3). He further explains that although people are interested in the cause they are reluctant to participate because the movement does not provide enough incentive for participation. Olson’s (1965) theory also suggests that rational individuals will opt for abstaining from participating, because they are convinced that regardless of them participating they will reap the benefits of the social protests. Olson’s (1965) theory received much critic. Many scholars found that Olson’s theory is flawed as he elaborated on why people do not participate and not on why they participate (Klandermans, 2004:363). Contrary to Olson’s theory Muller et al. (1991) postulate that participation in social movements is based on several aspects. Firstly, they are not content with the current government (Finkel & Muller, 1998:39). Secondly, participants believe that by participating in collective efforts will bring about changes that they desire. Finally, they assume that their subjective participation will increase the chance of success (ibid). These aspects contradict Olson’s description of rational choice theory. This model, unlike Olson’s explains rational choice theory in a different way.
Individuals are more likely to participate in social protest even if there is only a slim chance of success rather than completely abstaining from participating (ibid).
Framing
From a symbolic interactionist and constructionist standpoint, framing is defined as the process of assigning meaning to objects and feelings (Snow, 2004:384). There are two kinds of frames:
conservative frames and collective action frames. The former consolidates traditional norms while the latter is more progressive in nature (Swank and Fahs, 2012:70). Collective action frame is multidimensional. One of its dimension includes its power to render some social norms as immoral. By rendering some social norms as unjust it accentuates on the idea that some groups in society often deprive other groups from certain benefits (ibid). Frames are also capable of identifying the cause of these injustices and call for modification or even termination of those injustices (ibid). Lastly, frames urge bystanders to adopt political strategy to terminate or challenge the identified injustices (Swank and Fahs, 2012:71). Collective action frames can
therefore be seen as a powerful incentive behind participation. As mentioned previously, social movements are considered as the benchmark of democracy (Meyer and Tarrow, 1998). Many participants might have a feeling of political alienation. In other words, they might be reluctant to engage in politics in a conventional way such as voting for elections (Barkan, Cohn &
Whitaker, 1995:119). And instead participate in social movement which can also be considered as a form of political participation as participation in social movement is regarded as “politics by other means” (Gamson, 1975:139)
Political engagement
Various scholars such as Verba, Schlozman and Brandy (1995) have posited that participants in social movements are politically motivated. Like collective action frames political motivations are also multi-faceted. First, it is very unlikely that individuals who participate in social movements are not political (Putnam, 2000:35). Secondly, people who are not political would find it uninteresting to participate in any kind of social protests, including social movements. Putnam (2000) elaborates that political knowledge acts as “preconditions for active forms of participations” (Putnam, 2000:35). Thirdly, in sociological theory the term perceived political efficacy entails that participants engage in social movements because they think that their actions might lead to some political changes (Schussman & Soule, 2005:1086).
Dalton (2002) further adds that political motivations also depend on how liberal a person is.
The more liberal and progressive a person is the more likely she/he will question and defy conventional political structures by participating in social movements (Dalton, 2002:67).
Network and participation
Social networks are used as predictors by social movement theorists when analysing individual participation (Diani, 2004:339). Being a member of diverse social movements facilitates participation (ibid). It is a known fact that participants develop ties or form bonds with other members when they are already in a social network (ibid). There are two aspects that help strengthen participants’ relationship with other group members: namely identity and group memberships (ibid). A participant’s identity is often determined by her/his membership in different movements. An individual bases her/his decision to participate in a social movement
on the characteristics and ideologies a social movement has (Diani, 2004:340). Participants in social movements are said to have rich political skills and are very integrated in their social milieu (ibid). Being part of various movements allows participants to socialise with other members which subsequently enhances groups loyalties and urges members to participate in other movements or create a whole new movement of their own (Diani, 2004:341). However, only being member in a social movement does not necessarily lead to more participation in other groups unless interest in specific issues and actors’ network centrality are positively correlated. The ideology and identity of a movement should resonate or at least aligned with their other groups, for instance many left oriented participants are also part of feminist movement and vice versa. Joining a movement depends on three factors (Diani, 2004:342);
1-Number of organisations individual are members of
2-Amount of previous collective actions undertaken by the participant
3-Links or relationship with other people who are also involved in a campaign
Along with network ties there are other factors that may increase participation and these are, education, age, profession, status, these can either increase or decrease participation (Diani, 2004:346). Network ties enable people to calculate the impact of their actions, facilitates and influences participation (Diani, 2004:347). On the other hand, people are ready to start collective action regardless of the size of the groups (ibid). People do not want to be seen as exploiters and when someone is contributing to a collective good, others are likely to follow (ibid). The denser the network the higher the levels of collective action and the stronger two movements work together might lead to more collective actions (ibid). Movements having similar ideologies tend to strength this linkage by having seminars or unofficial meetings where they engage into informal exchange of ideas and discussion. This helps maintain members’
collective identity although they are not officially participating in active mobilisation (Diani, 2004:348).
Methodology
This chapter provides an insight into the data collection methods and the analytical practices used in this study.
Exploring men’s role and what motivate them to participate in feminist movements requires an in-depth approach. Firstly, because this topic is relatively unexplored and by using qualitative interviews might bring fore their decision-making process that takes place when they decide to participate in feminist movements. Qualitative interviews are suitable for this present study as it allows the researcher to tap into the participant’s decision making process (Bryman, 2012:
470-471). Additionally, understanding men’s participation in feminist movements is a relatively unexamined topic within sociology and by conducting qualitative interviews research may map concepts which can be useful for further quantitative studies. Other qualitative methods such as focus group interview could have been convenient but using qualitative interviews reduces social desirability bias, in return increasing the validity in this study (Hennink, 2010:9).
Qualitative interview is a useful method but there are some drawbacks that researcher should keep in mind. Some of the basic and main critics include, over probing, interviewer bias and sampling issues (discussed below) (Bryman, 2012: 470). There is a possibility to dodge those drawbacks if the researcher is well aware of them. Qualitative interviews are known for yielding an enormous amount of data which can be time consuming and overwhelming for the researcher (Bryman, 2012:574). To overcome this, I started transcribing the interviews right after they were conducted. Another obstacle a researcher might come across when doing qualitative interview is that it might lead to data saturation (Bryman, 2012:571). To deal with this, I sampled respondents from different geographical locations. They had different backgrounds, as mentioned in the sampling section; some of them were full-time employed and others were students, also their age varied. Qualitative research is criticised because of its infamous ability to cause researcher bias (Bryman, 2012:574). To overcome this drawback, when doing the interviews, I limited my impact on the respondents.
Sampling
Klandermans (2004) notes that there are numerous forms of participation, from signing petition to street demonstration and the nature of participation is motivated by different dynamics (Klandermans 2004: 360). Based on this I selected respondents that regularly participate in feminist movements. As previously stated, this topic is to some extent new and unexplored in
sociology therefore I conducted seven semi-structured qualitative interviews with men who regularly participate in feminist movements. There were two feminist marches that took place in March, one in Stockholm and the other in Norrköping. Both had an “invite page” on social media. I sampled the participants by publishing a request on both pages. Among the people that were disposed to take part 7 respondents were selected excluding one that was used in a pilot study. Therefore, sampling techniques contain elements of both convenience and purposive sampling. By selecting participants who volunteered makes it convenience sampling. However, not all respondents were selected for the interviews. The idea behind purposive sampling is strategically gathering participants who are relevant to the research question and ensure that participants will generate rich data (Bryman, 2012:418). As argued above, I selected only those who participated in feminist movements on a regular basis. Those who participated only once were not chosen because it was impossible to know if they did so randomly. Additionally, nationalities of respondents varied and this helped reduce faulty results that might occur when there is a lack of variation in nationality.
In my request post, participants were given the choice to either speak Swedish or English. Since the thesis is in English, I translated quotes that were in Swedish to English but the original quotes are included as footnotes, thereby, four interviews were carried out in English and three in Swedish. Furthermore, interviewees were given the option to either do face-to-face interview or Skype interview. In their study entitle “Skype interviewing: reflections of two PHD researchers” Deakin and Wakefield (2014) find that Skype interviews were not different from face-to-face interviews and responses were much the same (Deakin and Wakefield, 2014:607).
And I can ascertain that, in this present study as well responses did not differ significantly.
However, there are certain factors that I had to keep in mind when collecting my data using two different techniques. First of all, the four participants that opted for a Skype (video) interview had to find an ideal location as setting is crucial to data formation (Bryman, 2012:473). All of them were at home and were not disturbed neither by their surroundings or the internet connection and had Skype already installed on their devices. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in a private room that I booked beforehand in Norrköping’s city library. In the both methods, emails were exchanged a number of times prior to the interviews. This allowed a connection to develop between the researcher and respondents prior to the actual interviews.
There is a wealth of research on face-to-face interviews and because of its wide use in various discipline it meets the “gold standard” in terms of validity (Deakin and Wakefield, 2014:604) compared to Internet Mediated Research (IMR). However, researchers argue that IMR should
be considered as another important method for data collection and because little research were conducted on Skype interviews, I found it important to execute one pilot study where I focused on the quality of the conversation, time lapse, and other technical factors.
I was surprised to see that the respondents were very eager to contribute to the topic. All of them thought that it was an interesting topic and decided to participate out of altruism. I will further refer to the respondents using fictitious names. Respondents are named as follows:
Andreas, Kristian, Linus, Edvin, Pablo, Asbjorn and Kent. Respondents consisted of men ranging from 19 to 52 years old. Two of them were exchange students. Pablo is a student from Spain currently studying at Stockholm University and Asbjorn is from Denmark, an exchange student at Linköping University. Linus is also students at Linköping University and live in Norrköping. Andreas, Kent and Edvin had a full-time job. Andreas resides in Stockholm while Kent and Edvin live in Norrköping. Six of them, except Linus were in an established relationship. Andreas, Kristian, and Kent opted for Skype interviews because three of them had a full-time job. Pablo, being a full-time student also thought that Skype interview seem more convenient. Respondents were given the choice to pick their preferred time. Face-to-face and Skype interviews were conducted around 17.00-18.00. I started interviewing on the 13th of March (week 11) to the 23rd of March (week 12).
Ethical concerns
Ethic is central in data collection and qualitative interviews should follow a range of ethical considerations. Based on the Swedish vetenskaprådet there are four basic ethical principles that are to be followed. These include; respondents should be informed about the study also known as “informationskravet” in Swedish. Anonymity (konfidentialitetskravet in Swedish), meaning respondents’ names, or any personal information about the respondents are not to be disclosed.
Informed consent (samtyckeskravet in Swedish), means that they have voluntarily chosen to partake in the study. And lastly “nyttjandekravet” meaning that data acquired during the interview are not to be distributed or shared with other organisations (vetenskaprådet: 2002, 7- 14). In my interviews, every respondent was informed about the study and its purposes1. They were informed that they were chosen because they participated in feminist movements and the
1 See appendix 2
interviews will be recorded. I also suggested that they can withdraw from the interview at any given moment. Before proceeding with the interview, they were also made aware that they will remain anonymous, however they will be referred by a fictitious name. I also mentioned that the interview data will be used only for the purpose of this study and nothing else. Before starting the interviews, I made sure if everything was clear and asked if they had any questions regarding their rights or any other questions of ethical consideration. They were also briefed that parts of their interview might be included as quotes in this study but they will remain anonymous.
Ethics surrounding IMR needs further research hence, for the purpose of Skype interviews I followed the standard ethical procedures as I did for the face-to-face interviews (Deakin and Wakefield: 2014, 606). I must highlight that for Skype interviews I did not use any online recording device but used the same recording device I used for the face-to-face interviews.
Data analysis
The interview guide consisted of 13 questions which lasted approximately around 30-40 minutes per interview. The first questions were descriptive, general and relatively easy to answer subsequently leading to more specific questions. Being a semi-structured interview, the process was flexible and did not follow the interview guide slavishly and I sometime changed the order of the questions (Bryman, 2012:471).
Soon after all the interviews were conducted the transcription process started. Data were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were read numerous times before the coding process started.
In grounded theory, coding is considered as a very vital process in the generation of theories.
The process entails, constantly reviewing the raw data, labelling parts that are theoretically significant or parts that are considered relevant to the purpose of the thesis (Bryman, 2012:568).
Parts that were considered relevant in the transcription were highlighted and constantly reviewed. Highlighted parts were then conceptualised. An example of the coding process is provided below.
The purpose of the thesis is geared towards understanding roles played by men in feminist movements and what motivates men to participate. For example, when respondents were asked what is the role of men in the movement Pablo and Asbjorn answered:
Asbjorn: “…men should not ask for space in feminism they should take the space that is given to them”
Pablo: “Men should support, go to marches, read book about feminism…”
I conceptualised those extracts as “not dominate” and “taking orders from female feminists”
and later categorised them as “support”.
The coding process yield many concepts. Thereafter, the concepts were transferred into another document, colour coded and categorised. The idea with open coding is, concepts that encapsulate potential theoretical significance should be grouped into different categories (Bryman, 2012:569). To give another example: The second question the study poses is what motivates men to participate in feminist movements. I found three factors that motivated their participation, namely; rational choice, network and political motivations. The category that was categorised as “network” included concepts such as “seminars with feminist movements”,
“meeting with other movements”, “ideology” etc.
After the coding process was done, it was understood that men’s role in feminist movements is strictly restricted to supporting the movement, therefore men’s role is categorised as “support”.
Result and Analysis
This section is divided in three parts. The first part summarises the interviews. Followed by a chapter where men’s role in feminist movements is discussed. The last section discusses motivation behind men’s participation.
The purpose of this thesis is to know men’s role and what motivates them to participate in feminist movements. After conducting the seven interviews all respondents had three
motivational factors in common namely; rational, network and political factors.Their role in feminist movements was mainly based on support the feminist movements.
During the first few interviews, it became clear that they were aware of the gender disparity in society and through participating in feminist movements they wanted to support women. Their role in feminist movements was primarily to support it by taking orders from their female counterparts and all of them agreed that their role was mainly to support and not try to overtake.
As in De Wolf’s (2015) study shows, hetero sexual men who participated in feminist movements were often in relationship with a feminist and this subsequently prompted their participation in feminist movements. In this study too various respondents motivated their participation in those terms. Moreover, having an independent mother or sisters helped or motivated them to question gender roles in society. However, just as in De Wolf’s (2015) study, not all of them consciously questioned their masculinity However, later during the interviews, they contradicted their statements. For example, when Kristian was asked about his opinion on gender roles and masculinity he said: “I have never thought about it”.2 But later in the conversation he expressed his feelings about the traditional masculinity and claimed that it never appealed to him.
Political motivation involved their concern for the justice system and their anxiety towards sexual violence against women and wage-gap. However, at the beginning of the interviews not all of them explicitly mentioned that they participated in feminist movement to address sexual violence or the justice system. They did so when they were asked what were their views on the justice system. Moreover, some respondents were already members within a socialist and left- wing political party and mentioned that because their party work together with feminist movements they too found it important to combine feminism with their socialist ideologies and therefore participated in a feminist movement.
Another factor that the seven respondents mentioned was that men who are reluctant to join feminist movements and who are critical towards feminism feel threatened by feminist ideology. Questioning their privileges was another issue that was taken seriously by them all and they seemed determine to confront patriarchal structures on a daily basis.
2
Men’s role in feminist movements
Support
This segment discusses the role played by men in feminist movements. All the respondents in this study implied that their roles in feminist movements were geared towards exclusively supporting women in their fight and none of them displayed any intention to dominate or overtake the struggle to make it male-centric. De Wolf’s (2015) and Bailey’s (2015) studies, illustrate that in feminist movements men’s role is geared towards supporting women in their fight and despite having included men and the question of masculinity within feminism, feminism remains a movement that fights primarily for women’s right. In this present interviews, most of the respondents expressed a similar view. They agreed that women should be the “face-out” of the movement and their roles are secondary to that of women’s. There was a consensus among them that men should only take orders from their female counterparts.
However, one of the respondent, Linus, mentioned that on one occasion when his members were organising a discourse he thought it was more important to have “class-struggle” as a theme but other female members wanted and talk about abortion right. Although he strongly desired to talk about “class-struggle” he had to give in to other members’ wish and agreed that it is the women members who should decide what themes should be included in the discourse.
Like De Wolf (2015) and Bailey’s (2015) studies show, many female feminists opposed men’s participation because they feared that men could take the feminist space and make it theirs.
Taylor (1998) finds that in a mixed-gender movement there is a tendency for men to take a dominant space. Another respondent namely Andreas, highlighted on the idea that men should be aware that their role in feminist movements are secondary and they should only participate with the intention to support women otherwise their role might be rendered contra productive.
Swank and Fahs (2012) highlight that when participating in collective action some social norms are rendered as unjust (2012:71). Subsequently some groups in society are identified as exploiters. In feminist movements, patriarchal structures and therefore men are considered as the exploiters. Kent said:
“Men are the problem…they are the one who have to change”
During the interviews, like Kent, most of the respondents expressed their awareness on this topic. They stated that because men have occupied a dominant space in society they should redefine their roles and consistently work in line with feminism. And according to them, redefining masculinity and changing their behaviours are acts of support. Respondents stated that they often self-censor their behaviours not only when they are in the movements but even in their private life.
There is a consensus that roles between men and women differed during feminist demonstration. Kristian mentioned that “those [men] who wore ‘pussy hats’ got heavily criticised”3 and received backlash from the activists and other participants as well. Many respondents agreed that men’s role should differ because feminist movements are primarily women’s movement and it is justifiable that there is a difference between men’s and women’s participation. Therefore, just like Taylor (1998) postulate, none of them in any ways tried to push for their opinions, saying that trying to dominate is a typical male thing to do. Agreeing that women should set the manifesto and plan everything, men’s role in the movement is only to respect and take orders. They were thus very cautious not to force their ideas (except Linus) on the movement. They maintained that women’s struggle date back to 100 years of struggle and they have no intention whatsoever to dictate when participating. As Pablo suggested
“women do not need translators”.
Majority agreed that they do not have first-hand experience of the discrimination faced by women and therefore it is important to limit their roles only to supporting the women’s movement, as Kristian further mentioned:
“I do not know how it feels to walk on the beach in a bikini and people staring at me, I mean, when I walk on the beach in a bathing-trunks I do not think that anyone looks at me. It is as interesting to look at me as looking at a dog...”4
3 ”och de som hade pussy hats fick massa kritik”
4 ”jag vet inte hur det känns att gå på i stranden I bikini och män titta på mig, jag menar när jag går i badbyxor på stranden då tror jag att det inte är någon som tittar på mig det är lika intressant att titta på mig och hitta på en hund …”
Based on the above quotes, all respondents agreed that there should be a difference between the roles of men and women because it is a women’s movement. Men do not face the struggles that women do but they are concerned about women’s struggle, therefore their role in the feminist movement is only to support the cause.
Moreover, men’s roles in feminist movements take various forms just as De Wolf’s (2015) and Bailey’s (2015) studies postulate. In both studies men who participated in feminist movements were also engaged in men’s gathering where they discussed masculinity and discrimination faced by women. Andreas said that he too found it important for men to have a space where men can discuss such issues and maintained that he often participate and even act as a monitor in men’s gatherings.This can be considered as another role played by men in feminist movements.
As discussed previously, personal and biographical consequences imply that being a strongly active member in a movement might have lifelong consequences on an individual’s life (McAdam, 1999; Goldstone and McAdam 2001). During the interviews, some participants mentioned their they do not only support women when they are with them in the movement but they continue to support women’s right even when they are socialising with family and friends.
Most of them mentioned that when their friends or family members crack sexist jokes they always intervene. Moreover, all the respondents stated that they will continue to participate in feminist movements in the future and make it their life mission to stand up for women.
Despite respondents’ roles varied from taking orders to organising men’s gathering, all these endeavours were undertaken with the intention to support feminism in general.
Motivations behind men’s participation
Rational motivations
Both De Wolf’s (2015) and Bailey’s (2015) studies suggest that men too are victims of patriarchal structures. This view is not shared only among male participants. In Bailey’s (2015) study, even female participants mentioned that patriarchal structures are harmful for men as well. Patriarchal structures hinder men from showing emotions that are viewed as feminine and
certain men feel pressured to live up to the ideal image of how a man should be (Azpiazu, 2015:8). Demetrakis (2001) and Azpiazu (2015) studies found that men have formed a new identity that is more in tuned with feminist ideologies (Azpiazu, 2015:8). In their studies and also in Wolf’s study men who questioned the traditional masculinity and were willing to do activities that were regarded as “feminine”. Men did so not because they only wanted to support women but because they understood that traditional gender roles deny them from doing things that they want (De Wolf’s, 2015). When conducting interviews for this study some participants described the traditional gender norms as “destructive” for men and mentioned that feminist movements are the only movements in present day that fight and question traditional gender norms. Based on this, it prudent to say that some of the respondents in this study were driven by rational motivations. In short, rational theory defined by Muller et al. (1991) is grounded on three characteristics. Firstly, participants are not content with some social structures. Secondly, they are to certain extent sure that their participation will be successful. Thirdly, they are convinced that their individual participation matters. Rightly so, some participants motivated their participation in sync with the three criteria. All of them expressed their discontent with patriarchal structures. They mentioned patriarchal structures are detrimental to all genders.
Based on the second criterion, some of them thought that by participating in feminist movements would bring about changes that men would also reap. Finally, as the third criterion proposes, many of them were convinced that their individual participation will lead to their desired outcome. Six respondents claimed very little men participate in feminist movements and protests. And despite the lack of men, they decided to participate because they wanted to add to the mass and thought that participating is better than abstaining. Andreas said that changes in patriarchal structures will be a win-win situation for both genders. It is important to underline that rational motivation was not the only motivation behind their decision to participate.
Based on rational motivations, Kristian added that when participating in feminist movements he hoped that women would share an equal place as men in society. Because it is hard for him to befriend an individual who is not on the same or equal level as he is. Edvin also elaborated on this idea. He meant that when women and men will be treated equally the relationship between men and women too is going to stabilise. Kent, another respondent answered in a similar vein. As De Wolf’s (2015) study finds, some men who participated in feminist movements were driven by the idea to better their relationship with female members in society.
All these three respondents participated in feminist movements because they were prompted by
their partners. Perhaps if they did not live with a feminist partner, it would be unlikely that they would have participated in feminist movements.
Ideology theory suggests (Klandermans, 2004:365), social movements provide as a platform for members express their emotions. Rightly so, five respondents confirmed that participating in feminist movements allow them to express their disdain against the patriarchal structures.
They said that they never liked that traditional male image and activities. To highlight on this, Pablo quote seems ideal:
“You know I have never really been like the male guy. In the sense [that] when I was a kid I was not too comfortable with the male thing, like acting very possessive and dominant and aggressive. I always disliked that a lot…I also disliked football… I liked girl activities because they were more fair and inclusive and more friendly.”
The discussion above alludes to the idea that some respondents were aware that patriarchal structures are destructive for men too. For instance, as Pablo said, he had to live up to the image of being an ideal man although he did not like it. And according to the respondents, because feminist movements are the only movement today that question those structures it is important for them to participate in it. Firstly, as Andreas said, changes will be a win-win situation for all genders. And also based on ideology theory, it allow men to express their discontent with the current situation.
Network
Network theory suggests that being active in various movements helps establish connection with members of other groups. Also, an active participant often has strong ties with other members of the groups (Dianai, 2004:340). However, the movements have to share similar characteristics as it is stated that a person’s identity is often determined by the movement she/he is a member of (ibid). Five respondents in this study were also members of various other movements. Pablo, Asbjorn, Linus were members of a left-wing political or socialist organisations. Kent was an environmentalist and Andreas was a member of a LGBT group. As network theory suggests, those different movements a person is member of have to share relatively similar characteristics (Dianai, 2004:340). According to the five participants, left- wing movements and environmental movements question injustice and strive for equality.
These five respondents mentioned that feminist movements too have similar ideologies as socialist movements. As discussed above, ideology basically means that movements allow their participants to express their feelings and views towards existing structures (Klandermans, 2004:365). And through their participation in feminist movements they wanted to express their concern towards patriarchal and capitalist structures. Although Kent did not mention anything about socialist ideologies, he however maintained that people he socialises with participate in feminist movements and he was somewhat influenced by them and considered participating in feminist movements too. However, respondents who were also member of a left-wing or socialist organisations found it natural to participate in feminist movements. They mentioned that feminist movements fight for gender equality which is similar to their socialist identity.
When they were asked to define what feminism means to them, respondents belonging to left wing organisations said that fighting feminist right means fighting for equality in general. As they identified strongly with their left-wing movements they further mentioned that it is natural to stand up and participate in feminist movement as well. As identity and ideology theories suggest, respondents identified themselves as feminists and expressed their anxiety towards the existing social structures (Klandermans, 2004:362).
However, networking seems to be a determining factor that motivated these participants to join feminist movements and help form their feminist identity. All of them mentioned that they were not an outspoken feminist before they got in touch with other female feminists. Linus, Pablo and Asjorn mentioned that their left party required them to work with feminist movements and they were also given articles pertaining to feminism to read and discuss. As Pablo said:
“The movement that I belonged to started working with other feminist movements and feminist militant. I think it was then that I started to think seriously about feminism…for me it was important to get in touch with other feminists to actually know that I am a feminist”
Other respondents also mentioned that their organisations collaborated very closely with other feminist movements. They often planned unofficial meetings or official seminars where female- feminist lecturers were invited. During the meetings, they discussed various topics from discrimination faced by women to capitalism and socialism. Additionally, collective action depends on the idea that people do not want to be seen as exploiters. Few of them mentioned that because of left party and feminist movements have various aspects in common many members of their left party engage in feminist activities and that’s what propelled them to do
so as they do not want to be perceived as idle or exploiters. Few of them even mentioned that their left parties required them to work with feminist movements. As Asbjorn noted:
“…A lot of people in my local group were feminists, there was a lot of discussion and we read a lot about it. It came gradually, it was not like a big thing that came one day and the next day we were feminist.”
In Asbjorn’s case, he mentioned that feminist ideology had to be pushed on him and he found it appropriate that feminism is pushed on participants. Like the other respondents, he too said that his movement strongly required every member to adopt feminist ideologies in-order to stay in the left-wing radical movement.
The discussion above shows that respondents did not personally chose to participate in feminist movements. It was networking and collaborating with other feminist movements that pushed them to participate and be a member of feminist movements as well.
Political motivations
Participating in social movement is a political act and as many suggest social movement is a benchmark for democracy (Meyer and Tarrow, 1998). Social movements are known for their ability to change larger political and cultural context (Schussman & Soule, 2005:1086). Verba, Schlozman and Brandy (1995) say that individual who participate in social protests are politically motivated and believe that by engaging in social protests their action will bring some political changes (Schussman & Soule, 2005:1086). Also, based on Dalton’s (2002) argument people who are unhappy with the with the conventional political structured will try to change them by participating in social protests (Dalton, 2002:67).
As mentioned above, five respondents were already politically active in other movements as well. Although Edvin and Kristian mentioned that they do not belong to any political movements they however sympathised with Fi, which is a feminist political party in Sweden.
Edvin and Kristian mentioned that they were contemplating to vote for Fi in the next coming national election. This confirms that all respondents in this interview were politically motivated.
When respondents were asked what they wanted to achieve through their participation. All of them expressed their concern about the existing wage-gap between men and women and the justice system. They said that it is unacceptable for women to earn less than men in today’s society and through their participation they wanted to address this issue and hoped that politicians will listen and alter the existing wage-gap. All respondents also confirmed that the justice system is too lenient towards sexual offenders. Pablo and Asbjorn mentioned that have personally witnessed how policemen unfairly treated one of their female friend who was sexually harassed. As political motivation postulates; individuals participate in social protest with the intention to change social structures. Respondents in this present study too were driven by the idea that their participation might lead to structural changes.
Moreover, Wolf’s (2015) study illustrates that men who belonged to radical left organisations wanted to introduce class struggle within feminism. In this study as well Asbjorn, Pablo and Linus who are also affiliated with socialist organisations and though it is important to talk about class-struggle within feminism as well. When asked if there is anything they want to add in the feminist agenda when they participate in feminist movements, Asbjorn said:
“Class struggle. I don’t see anything outside of socialism. It often becomes focusing on issues of women. But how can you have equality between women who earn million and other who barely get paid a proper wage…I think class struggle is an absolute thing and some women are still more privileged that others”
As political engagement theory postulates, respondents were convinced that their participation in the feminist movements will result in changing some political structures (Schussman &
Soule, 2005:1086). However, in this study, like in De Wolf’s (2015), participants affiliated with socialist parties wanted to add ‘class-struggle’ in the feminist debate. Although, this can be explained from a political engagement perspective. One can also look at it from based on identity and personal biographical theory. These theories suggest that the social movement a person identifies and participate in can have a lifelong impact on that individual (McAdam, 1999; Goldstone and McAdam, 2001). It also depends on how active or how strongly they identify themselves with that movement (ibid). In this study, participants affiliated with socialist parties tend to identify themselves more as socialists or left-wing radicals. It makes sense because they decided to participate in feminist movements through their networks.
Although they participated in the movements because they were extremely concerned about
political structures and wanted to change them and were fighting for women. They nevertheless, spoke more about equality among women and ‘class-struggle’ among women and wanted to bring equality among them. Pablo, Linus and Asbjorn are more motivated to change the class structure in society when they participate in feminist movements.
Concluding discussion
This research paper departed from the idea to find an in-depth understanding of what motivates men to participate in feminist movements and their roles in the movements. Trying to understand men’s involvement in feminism has been mainly studied from gender or psychological perspective. In-order to answer the research questions seven qualitative interviews were conducted with men who have regularly participated in feminist demonstrations. As the current project aims to discern an in-depth understanding on men’s motivation, I considered, participating only once could be a random choice. I based my logic on choosing respondents who participated regularly on the notion that they might be a habitual participant and therefore more reliable to provide thorough answers. Men’s participation in feminist movements is to some extent unscrutinised from a sociological vantage point. This in return made it an interesting and quite unique topic for this study and also viable for future research within sociological spectrum. For future research one might consider a comparative method and interview both males and females who participated in feminist movements to find what motivate them to participate in them. It seems quite interesting to interview both women and who refuse to participate in feminist movements as well for further research within this field.
What are men’s role in feminist movements?
According to the respondents, their roles in feminist movements were only aimed towards supporting the movements. They agreed that feminist movements should be led by women because it is a woman’s movement. Although, those who are members of socialist parties had ideas that they would like to add feminism but they also mentioned that women should be the one deciding. They motivated that because men do not face the discriminations as women do it is thus important to only take-orders and support them. They also thought that men have an
