Men can be an important part of feminist movement

Even I don't like to tell people that I'm a feminist. I'd rather just say that I believe in equality. Otherwise, they instantly assume that I'm a pro-choice man-hater, who's ready to yell "sexual harassment" if someone brushes up against me. It's disgusting.

I'm amazed that feminism still carries such a burden. Women are holding higher government positions and are a stronger influence in the workforce than they have been in years. We make progress toward equality every day, and yet I don't see any relief on the pressure of stereotyping, especially on college campuses.

The saddest part about it is that the men and women who are afraid to stand behind the word feminism already stand behind its goals. Important issues in the feminist movement such as women in power, abortion rights, violence in the home and equal pay for equal work are all issues which men also are for or against. Therefore, men can be feminists, too.

I can see no harm in involving men in women's studies.

The deep root of stereotyping feminists lies at the feet of men. Why would they want to negatively portray this group of women? Is it because they fear what equality means for them? Yes, perhaps in the past this was true. But, in September 1997, The New York Times wrote that 52 percent of married women report contributing half or more than half of their family's income. Because of women's influence on household budgets, I'm sure that men are more willing to press for equal salaries for equal work.

So why do people still take offense at feminists? Perhaps it's because they feel alienated from it. Most men feel uncomfortable calling themselves something so strongly related to being female. But the same men could gain from learning the women's perspective.

Guys, do you believe women have the right to equal pay for equal work? Do you feel women can and/or should hold an equal seat in government? Are you comfortable with having a woman as your superior? Do you believe that physical abuse in the household is wrong? Would you like to have a female president of the United States? OK, so maybe you weren't completely ready for that last one . . . yet, but hopefully the better part of the population answered yes to most of those questions.

Let me be the first to say, "Congratulations!" There's a good possibility that you are a feminist. At the very least you stand behind some important women's issues. Stand up tall and stick out your chest. You're a male feminist.

Of course hearing that might still have made you cringe, which means that something's wrong. A man who believes in these rights should not feel uncomfortable expressing it.

The problem now is how to make feminism more open to everyone. Perhaps that begins by changing the name to something more inclusive like equalism. By changing the name we have the opportunity to drop most of the false stereotypes and gain a more powerful alliance of men and women.

Feminists have changed many sexist words in the past. For instance we took the title postman and changed it into postal worker to get rid of previous gender implications. Maybe feminism needs this same thing.

The power of feminism lies in unity. We need people to bind together under certain issues to keep progressive movement. Why would women want to exclude anyone ready to help a pro-woman cause? The purpose of feminism is equality, not opposition. Driving men away only shadows one of the goals.

By no means am I saying that women need men in their pursuit for happiness and equality. Women have been doing just fine on their own for many years. But I feel that by strengthening our support in the male population we can move twice as fast. Both sexes will be working together to change society.

By changing the name of feminism we can gain gender equality while still keeping gender pride and diversity.