Are Men 'Allowed' To Be Feminists?

I sat in the front row of a local concert venue, applauding my friend who happens to be a musician as she performed with three other talented female artists in celebration of International Women's Day on March 8. 

At one point in the show, my friend addressed the audience: "Let's give all the men a round of applause for coming out."

While I appreciated the recognition, there was a part of me that felt I didn't deserve it. Why should I and my fellow male concertgoers be patted on the back for doing the right thing? Why should anyone be applauded for doing the right thing?

This experience has me reflecting on how far we've come ‒ and how far we still have to go ‒ in what used to be referred to as "the battle of the sexes." This issue is especially relevant at this time of year during the observance of Women's History Month.

It's still considered unusual for men to be interested in issues that concern women, but issues that concern men are supposedly of interest to everyone. For example, I was the literal "odd man out" at the International Women's Day Concert. But it's perfectly acceptable for women to get caught up in March Madness and accompany their husbands, boyfriends and male associates to watch basketball games at sports bars.

Gender relations are of particular interest to me as an artist whose debut movie, "LadyWrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring," and debut novel, "The Chloe Chronicles," are centered on the stories of women. 

I didn't set out to make a documentary about women's sports. Nor did I tell myself, "I'm going to write a book about a female character."

In the case of "Lady Wrestler," I simply came across an interesting story about black women who excelled in the male-dominated world of professional wrestling back in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. As a journalist, I'd like to think that I can identify a good story that needs to be told.

In the case of "The Chloe Chronicles," I didn't consciously try to tell a story with a female main character. I simply got an idea for a novel with male and female characters of many different races, and the title character happens to be female. I just decided to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, as it were) and tell the story that was in my head. I didn't give any thought as to whether it was "proper" for a guy to tell a story with a female main character. Who cares, as long as readers find the story engaging?

As a journalist, you have to be versatile and have the ability to tell stories that include several different perspectives. So when I got the opportunity to assist businessman Raymond Lambert in writing his memoir about his legendary Chicago comedy club, "All Jokes Aside: Standup Comedy Is a Phunny Business," I jumped at the chance. 

In Raymond's case, I didn't consciously tell myself, "Okay, now I'm going to co-write a book about a man." Once again, I simply saw a good story that needed to be told.

If we're ever going to achieve true equality, men are going to have stand up, raise our voices and champion issues that affect women. We men are going to have to have the courage, the integrity ‒ the balls ‒ to step outside of society's traditional roles and resist the urge to remain silent and "stay in our lane." 

"Can men be feminists?" I asked my friend, a woman who attended the International Women's Day Concert with me. She said yes, that it's okay for men to use that label as long as they're "woke."

An interesting coincidence: a couple of hours after I wrote the original draft of this post, I walked into my office building and encountered a woman passing out flyers for a "lunch and learn" Women's History Month presentation. She handed flyers to the two women ahead of me, but when she saw me (a guy) approaching, she literally turned her back and walked away. 

How did she know I wasn't a "woke" man who would appreciate the Women's History Month presentation ‒ which, of course, I would have. 

Would I label myself as a feminist? If being a feminist means supporting women's rights ‒ and human rights, in general ‒then the answer is yes.

But why does the label even matter? As a writer and filmmaker, I'm going to continue to try to tell good stories, regardless of the gender of the characters.

A good story is a good story. Period.