Can men be feminists?

Kinda like can white people fight racism? It is a rhetorical question and an age old one, but what do we think?
via Majikthise.
I am impressed with Majikthise’s positivity and although I agree with her on some level, I still find many people that attempt to build allies with *oppressed* communities to be short-sighted of the baggage they bring themselves. For example, several of the white teachers in my school who have been there for a long time and are very committed, yet say the MOST racist stuff in the teacher lunch room about the predominantly black community that I teach in. But let me not digress.
In light of last weeks Duke post and the ensuing flame war (with a round-up post to come), I am questioning so many of these things and what it is we need to do to build allies across difference. We have the greater context of culture in the West, where our media is still dominated by racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism… In the face of overarching issues it is much easier to talk, build, move. It is when we turn the mirror on our selves that the problems arise. That we notice the problems imbedded in our own movements. The racism in feminist circles or the sexism amongst *progressive* men or the sheer elitism of academia verse grass-roots resistance.
We all fall along these lines so at what point do we build alliance? And how do we do it? Can people outside of oppressed groups understand and work with people from within those groups? And what about those of us that don’t fall into just one group, what then? huh huh?
(And let me just say on some level I have to believe they can, or I won’t be able to get up and go to work tomorrow, but that is a whole other issue.)
ps-troll me and i delete you.