Don't forget about the men...

Several universities, including Manchester University and Oxford, have recently launched 'men's groups' - exclusive male groups that will "celebrate and explore the concept of masculinity". Not surprisingly, this has provoked outrage by many. Prominent feminists say these men's groups undermine efforts to achieve equality and that society in general is already male-oriented. Herstorian says: it's true that most social spaces are male-oriented. Which is exactly why we need men's groups to discuss masculinity and traditional gender roles. Alex Linsley, founder of the men's group at Oxford explains:

"There is so much conflicting information for men. There is massive confusion as to what being a man means, and how to be a good man. Should you be the sensitive all-caring, perhaps the 'feminised' man? Or should you be the hard, take no crap from anybody kind of figure?

Neither of those are particularly useful paradigms. But there's perhaps things we could learn from both perspectives."

If feminists really want to achieve equality, then they have to develop a more nuanced, complex understanding of the subordination of women - namely, how it is made possible by dominant female and male gender archetypes. Social equality for women is unlikely to be achieved simply by overthrowing old notions about what women should do, be and want. We need a similar revolution in how we think men should behave and what we think masculinity should mean.

Time is a feminist issue...

Herstorian apologizes deeply for her long absence. She has been working loads at a uninspiring, ill-paid bar job. This leaves little time to sort out the problems of the world.

But then again most women in the world spend their time doing uninspiring and ill-paid - and usually exploitative, dangerous, or abusive - jobs. Isn't it ironic that it is just these women that we need to hear from the most? These women have a perspective on gendered inequalities that is invaluable. And thus, usually invisible.

Anyways, no more moping, let's crack on. Jill Berry, president of the Girls' School Association, recently said that girls need to be taught to be 'realistic' about the difficulties of being both a good mother and career woman. Berry does well to highly the difficulties of balancing work and family. But why shouldn't men be taught to be 'realistic' about the difficulties of being a good father and a 'career' man (by the way career men are never called career men; they are either just men or - if they are good at it - good providers)? Most importantly, though, Herstorian wishes Berry had advocated a' dose of realism' for the state and society. She casts the difficulties of balancing work and family as an individual, female issue instead of as a crucial issue that affects society en masse and requires a mass solution. We need to provide more social services to help women - and men - to manage careers and family more easily. Flextime, job sharing, and state-sponsored childcare is a start. But to really make a difference we need to make it socially acceptable for men to be equally responsible for childcare and the running of a successful home. That is the 'dose of reality' we need. If we don't, we risk losing the brain power and social capital of half of the our population.