Why Not Domination By Men?

Kim at Alas, a Blog poses the question on behalf of a male correspondent who isn’t convinced that there’s a compelling reason to subvert male domination:

My question:
Why not domination by men?

It's true that not all societies have had this kind of domination, but in almost every society I have read about, including primitive hunter-gatherer ones, ones allegedly "egalitarian," there tends to be greater access of men for power positions and the like. I've had feminist friends point this out. They despair of this. One friend said something like, "It's like it's human for men to dominate. It really makes me depressed."

So why not domination? Why is feminism right in putting forth its agenda?

THAT is what I would like to understand…

There are (currently) 57 comments offered in response, from both women and men, which are, in large part, very thoughtful and well-reasoned (Feminism means gender equality. Limiting the ways that it is acceptable to be female also limits the ways it is acceptable to be male. Feminism means more freedom for him as well as for women… Because peaceful, stable societies are linked to higher status of females… Because a society simply does better when all the potentials of all it’s members are tapped to their utmost, allowing them freedom to do what they are best at… Feminism attempt[s] to create equality, while the inverse, male model is for privilege and dominance…), and the one thing I can say for certain about nearly everyone who offered their answers to the question is that they are a hell of a lot nicer than I am.

Because my answer would have been, “Fuck off.”

(Okay, maybe not that rude, but that’s definitely what I would have been thinking.)

Undoubtedly, there are some who think that’s a bit harsh for someone who wanted an answer to a legitimate question, but I don’t believe it’s a legitimate question to begin with. Kim quite graciously turns it into a legitimate question by rephrasing it, “Why Feminism?” but the actual question that’s posed is “Why not domination by men?” And that’s a bullshit question in the context of discussing feminism, because the world isn’t dominated by men as an all-encompassing term; it’s dominated by a very specific kind of men—white, heterosexual, rich, power-seeking men. And obediently relinquishing control to those men isn’t just bad for women; it’s bad for non-white men, gay men, poor men, and egalitarian-minded men, too.

The reasons that feminism is “right in putting forth its agenda” are the same reasons that any civil rights movement is right—because to grant equality necessitates yielding some of the power held by the dominant class. Allowing women to vote, granting blacks the right to hold land, desegregating schools, decriminalizing homosexuality, secularizing public spaces—all of these were an encroachment upon the existing power structure, which is why each of them continues to be met with social pressures favoring the preexisting status quo: politicians giving little more than lip-service to women’s issues to ensure women feel alienated by and disinterested in politics, redlining, property tax-funded school systems, anti-gay marriage legislation, a steady attack on reason (respectively). In spite of legal victories, many of these things haven’t significantly changed.

Constant pressure must be applied to crack the cycle. It’s only through the consistency provided by ongoing movements like feminism, gay rights, civil rights, workers’ rights, etc. that we’re all given a chance—including the men who don’t find themselves on the top of heap.