trochee

I was talking to a friend who is applying to join a faculty discussion group for Feminist Issues. I read a first draft and thought about what the strengths she had were going into such a discussion.

What I wrote up may -- or not -- reflect good reasons for her to be a part of that group, but with a very minor modification they make up reasons why I would want to participate in such a group:

What I bring:
* my experience as a man in a primarily male field [CS/EE] and a much more balanced field [linguistics], as an undergrad and grad
* my interest in supporting an egalitarian academic community:
-- supporting more diversity [sex, gender and other] in the student body
-- supporting more diversity [sex, gender and other] in the faculty
* my perspective on explicit discrimination [e.g., harassment, favoritism, etc]
* my perspective on more subtle, implicit forms of discrimination
-- attitudes towards female/male scientists vs homemakers vs politicians
-- creepy theories of biology/theology about women's [and men's] bodies
-- students & faculty who self-censor or self-promote, different ways of communicating
What I'd want to take away:
* meet allies
* discussion of issues relating to you personally
* safe[r] space [than the CSE department!] for discussion of sexism and feminist thinking on campus
* the role of faculty in helping
-- feminist teaching
-- mentoring, fostering anti-sexists
* the role of departments in helping
-- anti-sexist departmental structures
-- how to think about confronting/opening the minds of entrenched male power
* the role of men in helping
-- asking women to liberate themselves is the essence of male privilege
-- an almost-all-male field like engineering has very few female mentors

I don't really have an answer to this, or a place to have this discussion, but I'm interested in these questions. I am particularly interested in ways that men can help to be anti-sexist. The best advice I think I've ever heard was "support women" -- it's too easy for men to look for ways to solve problems, when recognizing the problem-solving nature in the women around me, especially when it's not being respected by other men, is a better strategy in both short and long term.
It's easy to preach; somewhat harder to practice.