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What Happens When Men Get Involved in Feminism? Contemporary Mixed-Gender Feminist Activism in England

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What Happens When Men Get Involved in Feminism? Contemporary Mixed-Gender Feminist Activism in England What happens when men get involved in feminism? Contemporary mixed-gender feminist activism in England Jessica Baily Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociological Studies University of Sheffield December 2012 1 Abstract This thesis engages with debates about men’s relationship to feminism through exploring the practice of mixed-gender feminist activism. It focuses on contemporary mixed-gender feminist groups in England and includes four case studies: a feminist discussion group, a student union women’s committee, a DIY (do-it-yourself) collective, and a feminist activist group. These groups were studied using a qualitative case study approach, drawing on data from participant observation, interviews and documents. The thesis explores the groups’ political practices, internal dynamics and feminist beliefs. It highlights the diversity in the groups’ experiences, suggesting that the effects of men’s involvement in feminist groups are varied and context- specific. It also situates the groups within a wider context, showing how they are influenced by existing feminist ideas and other discourses such as the critical study of men and masculinities. Furthermore, it analyses the links between the groups’ experiences and practices and the wider sociopolitical context, arguing that a ‘postfeminist’ context, which can be seen as characterised by ambivalence towards feminism, presents challenges for feminist activists. This research responds to ongoing debates amongst feminists about whether and how men should be involved in the feminist movement (see, for example Luxton, 1993, Digby, 1998, Bryson, 1999, Elliott, 2008). The central argument of this thesis is that there is no simple answer to these questions. Mixed-gender feminist organising has both potential benefits and limitations in comparison to women’s groups and it may be more appropriate in some contexts, or for some tasks, than others. From a feminist perspective, what is important is to understand what may be at stake in including or excluding men from feminist activities and to make decisions about their involvement on this basis. This thesis outlines some of the issues which may be at stake, providing a valuable resource for feminist activists and theorists. 2 Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 7 1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 8 1.1 Feminism, activism and social movements ............................................ 9 1.2 Background .......................................................................................... 11 1.3 Research questions and aims .............................................................. 12 1.4 The study ............................................................................................. 13 Feminist discussion group .......................................................................... 14 Women’s committee ................................................................................... 15 DIY collective .............................................................................................. 16 Feminist activist group ................................................................................ 17 1.5 Thesis structure ................................................................................... 18 2 Literature review ....................................................................................... 20 2.1 The ‘man question’ in feminism ........................................................... 20 Men’s engagements with feminism in Britain.............................................. 20 Can men be feminists? ............................................................................... 22 The politics of naming ................................................................................ 25 Men doing feminism ................................................................................... 27 What’s a man to do? .................................................................................. 30 Research on men and feminism ................................................................. 32 2.2 Gender and power ............................................................................... 33 Theorising gender ...................................................................................... 34 Masculinities ............................................................................................... 38 Theorising power ........................................................................................ 42 Gender, power and interaction ................................................................... 44 A framework for investigating mixed-gender feminist groups ..................... 53 2.3 The context of contemporary feminist activism .................................... 53 Sociopolitical context .................................................................................. 54 Backlash and postfeminism ........................................................................ 55 Public attitudes towards feminism .............................................................. 57 Developments in feminism since the second wave .................................... 59 New feminisms? ......................................................................................... 61 Conclusions and implications for the ‘man question’ .................................. 64 2.4 Chapter conclusions ............................................................................ 66 3 Methodology ............................................................................................. 68 3.1 Methodological approach ..................................................................... 68 3.2 Locating myself .................................................................................... 72 3 3.3 Research design .................................................................................. 74 3.4 Participant observation ........................................................................ 77 Field relations ............................................................................................. 78 My role ....................................................................................................... 79 Fieldnotes ................................................................................................... 81 3.5 The interview process .......................................................................... 82 3.6 Interviews and interaction .................................................................... 87 My role ....................................................................................................... 88 Joint interviews ........................................................................................... 89 Social identities .......................................................................................... 91 3.7 Documents .......................................................................................... 93 3.8 Data analysis ....................................................................................... 95 3.9 Ethics ................................................................................................. 103 Informed consent and deception .............................................................. 103 Privacy, anonymity and confidentiality ...................................................... 105 Harm ........................................................................................................ 108 Power relations ........................................................................................ 109 3.10 Conclusions ....................................................................................... 111 4 Doing feminism: the practice of mixed-gender feminist activism ..... 112 4.1 Feminist discussion group ................................................................. 112 Setting up the group ................................................................................. 112 Mixed-gender consciousness-raising ....................................................... 114 Benefits and limitations of a mixed-gender group .................................... 117 4.2 Women’s committee .......................................................................... 118 Group structure ........................................................................................ 119 Decision to include men ........................................................................... 119 Mainstreaming feminism? ........................................................................ 122 Effects of the decision to include men ...................................................... 124 4.3 DIY collective ..................................................................................... 125 DIY feminism and riot grrrl ........................................................................ 126 Queer feminism ........................................................................................ 129 4.4 Feminist activist group ....................................................................... 132 Effects of men’s presence ........................................................................ 133 Decision to exclude men .........................................................................
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