I’m a highly unusual occurrence in the world of feminist blogging. The discovery came as a shock to many of my readers, and very few feminist blogs that I’ve come across share this same characteristic of mine. I’m a man.

Perhaps more unusual still is my absolute passion for the subject. I have been known to rant about advertising, reproductive rights, the sex industry, contraception, abortion, body image, eating disorders, domestic violence: the lot. Contrary to the reductive stereotype, feminists can be people of all races, genders, ages and classes. The bra-burning, lesbian man-haters of the stereotype are gone precisely because we are here. We are feminists beyond definition. These misconceptions have almost defeated the cause, turned it into a fringe movement, a 'cackle of rads' as Sarah Palin famously called her feminist critics. Feminism has been sidelined to the point that it is socially unacceptable to say 'I am a feminist'. It's time to turn it around.

Despite its mythical status today, male feminism is certainly nothing new. For instance, John Stuart Mill was a very important figure in early feminism, and published The Subjection of Women in 1866. But the number of modern men unafraid to use the label of feminism is still very low. I frequently write about the problems that women face, from pink, fluffy, gender-specific toys in the nursery to sexual harassment in school. When female criticisms arise, they expect gender to be my undoing. “You’ve really helped me in growing a notable dislike for feminists,” commented one anonymous reader, adding – rather disturbingly – “I’m female”.

If women say they are equal, they must be so, right? This anonymous critic went on to say that elements of inequality are just the way that free choice manifests itself. Her experience was one without noticeable oppression, where only misogynists were guilty of crimes against women. She added that feminism's work was done: women had the same rights as men.
Unfortunately, inequality goes far deeper than subjective experience, deeper than the right to vote and the right to work. While women’s legal rights have improved in the UK, one in four will be set upon by a current or former partner. 75 per cent of mothers are still the primary carers for their children. 91 per cent of rape victims are women. 75 per cent of eating disorder sufferers are female, while less than 22 per cent of MPs and 12 per cent of big business directors are women. In a world of power and subjection, being male is key.

On computers from Brazil to New Zealand, from Sweden and the Philippines to the US and UK, feminists are writing on the prolific inequalities that still divide the genders. All views are allowed, many are fiercely challenged, and the direction and diversity of the movement is seen nowhere more poignantly than the internet.

Any woman can become a feminist blogger, as long as she embraces the spirit of equality that challenges entrenched traditions and established concepts. There is no doctrine, no rules and no single goal besides that. The community is made up of straight women, gay women and trans women, religious women and atheist women, white women and ethnic minority women. Their ideas are often radical and reactionary; their online world a place where any sniff of injustice rapidly spreads and inequality is widely discussed. Rather than a dogmatic and prescriptivist horde of extremists without a sense of humour, these bloggers are radically different when expressing the need for the movement in the modern age.

“Nowadays, they’re nothing but a bunch of angry-for-no-reason lesbians,” writes one blogger. If feminists were just women bitter about men, how does that explain me? I’ve been aware of sexism in our society my whole life. I didn't come to these conclusions because I was overly sensitive to sexism; I have never truly experienced it. But I have learnt by observation and research that there are serious, measurable inequalities in modern society that continue unchecked, unquestioned and uncorrected.

The World Economic Forum releases an annual Gender Gap Report, which uses its own index of multiple inequality measures to rank countries by gender equality. In 2006, the UK was 9th. In 2009, it was 15th. What does this mean? Not only is the UK far short of being the world's most equal country, it is progressively getting worse by measures of political, corporate and social empowerment. Most people do not question why women spend more time getting ready, why they cannot walk home alone and why they do not make up even a quarter of our nation's parliament. The reality is that women are under more pressure to appear attractive, to protect themselves from rape rather than addressing the problem of rapists, and to realise that power is still very much a man's game. I use the label of feminism because it highlights the overwhelmingly misogynistic nature of our gender gap shortcomings.

By rejecting their outdated ideals of masculinity and notions of chivalry, men can be the essential cogs in a tired, stuttering machine. Men can, and should, be feminists. The first step is to start questioning everything we think we know about gender in society. Feminists can't be lesbian man-haters if anyone can be feminist. I could be called a man-hater because I challenge masculine attitudes, because I challenge misogyny and I 'blame' men for the inequality that in fact hurts them too: organisations like Fathers for Justice fight for equal custodial rights for men. Traditional perceptions of masculinity stifle the expression of emotion in men, who feel just as deeply and intensely as their female counterparts. The reality is that feminism is a force against all gender inequality, not a crusade against men. Feminism is a force for good, and the more men begin to question their roles in society the more progress we can make.

Read more from Rob at http://i-am-the-lighthouse.tumblr.com/