We hear from Terrel Mollel, who has been reflecting on what it means to be a feminist ally. Rather than centring his own voice, he reflects on the importance of listening, and how men can contribute to challenging existing power imbalances.
In this article, we hear from Terrel Mollel, a current School of the Arts student at Queen Mary and an aspiring political journalist at The Print, who has been reflecting on what it means to be a feminist ally. Rather than centring his own voice, he reflects on the importance of listening, and how men can contribute to challenging existing power imbalances.
On reflection, there are many factors that persuade me to be a male feminist. Most importantly because in our world women must negotiate their identity under pressure. Specifically, the pressure that men impose on women warrants concern. So, I am an ally to women. Being a male ally to women does not detract from their movement. Once I felt my heart weighed more than the world, at 16-years old, I knew that my life had begun. From having observed my emotions as I grew up, I discovered the source of my security. The heart. From engaging with the world through literature, I identified what inspires my curiosity: possibility. This interior life inspires my heart. To insulate my heart from the world I engaged with that which empowers. Literature. I searched for the words to express the weight of the world but found more than I expected. I was confronted with the conceptual illustrations of a world fraught with conflicts between ideas.
Notably, Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex showed me the asymmetric power dynamic between men and women. My heart grew heavier when I processed that men often see themselves through women but dismiss their importance. However, I was persuaded of the importance of women before reading Simone de Beauvoir. The British Suffrage campaign has always evoked my respect, as Parliament could not celebrate its democracy whilst denying women rights. Yet the suffrage campaign extends to the present day. Suffrage is still necessary. So, we must deny Parliament its proclaimed status as a leading democracy, for as long as it neglects women. Although women are equal in British law they are not in practice, due to culture. For dreamers, like me, this is a drastic problem.
Navigating the edifice of feminism can be daunting. But justice has always been paved through uncertainty. So, as a man I can contribute to deconstructing stereotypical gender roles by supporting female empowerment. Yet I ‘stand by women but do not speak for women’ as Diya, QMSU President, advised. As a man, what I can offer is support, not insight. While it is a privilege to be able to contribute to an important movement, feminism enables women to reclaim power from distressing experiences and disrespectful men. I am an ally of this movement.