ABSTRACT
In terms of the classroom, the question of whether a male professor can de-politicize feminism enough to effectively teach from that perspective is very real, as is the corollary question of whether it is “legitimate” for him to do so. Certainly feminist criticism has reached a point where it is no longer considered a “radical” approach carried out by an emboldened and enlightened few. Consciousness-raising efforts by feminists in the seventies had been successful to a certain extent, particularly within the walls of academe. Many male professors found themselves moving through training exercises, from emotional sympathy with the feminist cause, to intellectual recognition of its importance, to a high degree of dogmatic understanding and expression. Meanwhile, any continued effort to segregate themselves will undoubtedly result in new labels, such as using the term “femenist” to describe male practitioners of feminism.
