Matthew Facciani

Matthew Facciani is a cognitive neuroscience PhD candidate at the University of South Carolina. He is originally from Pennsylvania and completed his undergraduate degree at Westminster College, PA where he majored in psychology, minored in sociology, and graduated with honors. Facciani's research interests largely fall under the academic area of social neuroscience. He has previously studied how emotion is represented in the brain using the neuroimaging technique of fMRI and his current research interests are the racial and gender disparities in mass media and the cognitive effects of sexism. His dissertation will be on the psychological and neural mechanisms of religious belief. Facciani also serves as the Co-Chair of the Secular Coalition for South Carolina, writes for The Feminist Observer, and volunteers for The Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands. Science communication is also a passion for Facciani and he enjoys traveling around the country to give talks about neuroscience and religion (more information can be found at www.facciani.com).

Posts Written by Matthew
By Matthew Facciani • 10 years ago

Why I’m a Male Feminist and Not a Men’s Rights Activist

Many people seem puzzled that a man would identify as a feminist and I believe this is largely due to a lack of understanding of what feminism actually is.  According to a national poll in 2005, only 14% of men identify as feminists. However, this poll found that when they told men “A feminist is someone who believes in social, political, and economical equality of the sexes” it resulted in 58% of men identifying as feminists. Clearly, awareness of accurate representations of feminism is necessary for obtaining more allies. I am optimistic enough to believe that generally men and women want to help others, but sometimes they become misguided or misinformed. Some men even view feminism as their opposition and have formed a movement of their own, the Men’s Rights Movement (MRM).

The MRM disputes claims that men have greater social privilege over women and focuses on social issues which harm men.  As a man, it may be more intuitive that I support the men’s rights movement if only for my own personal gain. However, I argue that hypermasculine standards and the patriarchy are the root causes of many MRM issues and that feminism aims to fight the same issues from a different angle. I find feminism to be an effective means of dismantling the systems that hurt both men and women and for achieving future equality.