ABSTRACT

Profeminist men began to lay the groundwork for this perspective in the late 1960s. Deeply affected by the ideas of feminism, they met in order to discuss the impact of feminism on their lives. Many of these men came to this interest in feminism through the direct influence of women with whom they were intimate. At the core of radical profeminism is the belief that the political and social reality in which people live is best described as "patriarchy", and that it is within this structure that masculinity is culturally produced and reproduced. The masculine gender role, for radical profeminism, is a set of behaviours, attitudes, and conditions supported by stereotypes and ideals that maintains a system of power and benefit for men. Radical profeminists clearly believe that their perspective provides the essential insights into gender role issues. Feminism gave profeminist men the impetus to form men's conscious-ness-raising groups in the 1970s.