https://www.safehelpline.org/information-for-Men
And if all of your female friends have no issue with you being sexually assaulted, you need to get different friends. That has nothing to do with feminism or society as a whole. It's shitty people in your personal orbit.
The first thing I did was express sympathy and say that what happened to you wasn't acceptable. I didn't push back against you having the right to be cared about - I pushed back on made up stories you persist in telling that feminists want men to be harmed and abused. The false narrative that feminists hate men and want the worst for them is a pathetic red herring to derail the conversation about how much violence against women is an accepted and normalized thing in this culture. The reality is feminists are the only ones working towards greater wellbeing for men by trying to break down the patriarchal boxes of what is considered acceptable to be "a real man."
“Of course the impact of this is immense, and reading about the boys in the report who justified male violence through notions of men’s possession and ownership of women goes some way to explain the shockingly high levels of sexual assault in schools. But these stereotypes also harm boys — look, for instance, at the under-reporting of violence and abuse against boys and men.”
“Instead of feminism harming boys, the report has found that the opposite is true: challenging male violence and misogyny, encouraging different types of masculinity and seeing women as allies, all contribute to better mental health and educational attainment among boys. As Gary Barker, one of the authors of the report, and the CEO of Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice puts it: “Boys need feminism and feminism needs boys on board.””
While many men increasingly want to be more involved in parenting their children, many workplaces don't offer men extended parental leave or flexible hours, making it difficult to balance work and family responsibilities. (Something that feminists are pushing for).
In my experience, including men and boys in feminist work comes naturally to everyday feminists. They recognize that work on gender equality is interconnected and ultimately benefits all genders. Deeply attuned to the needs of their communities, they don’t approach an issue with preconceptions about who should be centered. Rather, they seek to serve the most marginalized.
Not only do everyday feminists recognize that gender equality brings benefits to both women and men, but they also recognize that engaging men is critical to achieving feminist wins.
