That you have accumulated knowledge and aim to educate and enlighten is justification enough, in my book. Perhaps you will serve as an example to other men that it is possible to be a feminist and to advance feminist causes if you are not a woman and not a member of an historically oppressed group. After all, had only African-Americans or LGBTs alone pushed for their deserved rights, I doubt they alone would have accomplished what a combined group effort did.

Feminism isn't related to gender. Its a belief. Its not physical. You could be sexless and a feminist.

After all, look at all the misogynistic women.

I think you definitely should be teaching. Twould set a good example.

Agreed with the comments above, go for it and maybe you can inspire many other men to become feminists as well :)

Speaking from personal experience, I had such a great professor in college who was a white, upper middle class male (I'm fairly certain he was heterosexual but I never really knew for sure) and he was an excellent professor and one of the teachers who really got me into feminism. If it wasn't for him and my other two professors I don't think I'd be the person I am today. :)

Yes, the one major benefit that popped into my mind was the possibility that many more male students would be willing and interested in a class in women's studies if it was taught by a male prof...kind of an ice breaker to the topic.

I just hope you don't win the position over any equally qualified woman...

As far as you privileged, having a member of a very privileged group talking about the importance of ridding society of these privileges would have a very big impact on similarly privileged students, I believe. My white professors never put their white privilege out there, but I think I would have been really interested if they had.

You might want to check out www.hugoschwyzer.net - he's a male feminist who teaches classes on feminism at a community college in California. He's written about this topic before, and while I couldn't find the specific posts I had in mind to link you to, you might find reading his whole blog interesting given your common interests.

One way you could ameliorate your male privilege in a classroom setting is to direct your students to the non-privileged voices who have written and spoken so much in this field already. Cite, give credit to, and reference all the non-male, non-white, and/or non-hetero voices so that they're teaching through you and your students are aware that you're just helping them sort through and understand all the voices out there.

being in a privileged group, and talking about how that privilege works in society would be a very beneficial thing for a university to have. Many male students are intimidated by women's studies classes because they are male and they think that they are going to be attacked for it. While the overwhelming majority of women's study profs-both male and female- would never let that happen, I think a lot of guys would not for sure that they aren't going to be hammered for their privilege if a man was teaching the class. And while that in and of itself is a gender stereotype and needs to be addressed it's still there, and once you get them in the door then you can teach them why their thinking is wrong and hurtful. Go you for getting your degree in something so worthwhile, hope you have fun as a teacher

You are being too critical of yourself.

Were you a cardiologist, you you beat yourselfup because you'd never suffered a heart attack?

The world needs more feminist men! Most definitely! Not only would it break stereotypes, it would set an example for young men. I think people simply don't KNOW what the word "feminist" means. It needs as many positive faces as possible. Go for it!

You can do whatever you want, as long as you come at it from your own position and don't try to hit it from the same perspective as all the female women's studies teachers. What people here are saying about acknowledging privilege is probably the best example, because that's a topic where your voice holds more weight. But the best classes are usually the ones that are situated most thoroughly in fact; as long as you bring serious knowledge to the table and can answer questions intelligently, that's what matters.

Short version: No one will care about your color or your dick as long as you can do your job well.

I'm a freshman at a giant private, world renowned university with a pitiful women's studies program. I'm taking 5 classes this semester and my ONLY male professor happens to be my women's studies professor. He is amazing, and I adore him. For a moment I almost thought you WERE him (same credentials). To be blunt, he isn't teaching us HOW to be women . . . he's teaching ABOUT women and their struggle and the nuances involved with that. He's a wonderful teacher and very approachable. While this is unfortunate, some of the girls in my class have said they PREFER him to a "feminazi." Of course I hate that term, but if you can help bring college women to feminism simply by being approachable, you're what we need.

In short? Do it. At my school, please :-)

You can but you should not. You could in all good conscience teach a class in the “role of men in Feminist Culture”.

The comments already posted have been great. Here's one more way of looking at it. You've probably taught undergrads before, while finishing your Ph.D. Think about how much you've learned about women's issues, women's history, and feminist-oriented ways of analyzing texts over the course of your education. Think about how much time have you spent spent thinking through (and writing about) those issues. Now compare that to how much the typical undergrad student knows about those topics. You're vastly more educated and aware than they are about the issues you'd be teaching. Many of your students would have barely begun to even think about the need for feminism and women's studies.

Will they "take you seriously"? Well, I should certainly hope so. A Ph.D. in English represents an enormous amount of expertise in your chosen field. We wouldn't want people saying, for instance, that a black women can't be taken seriously teaching Renaissance poetry; it's the same in this case.

as someone with male privilege, students will take you more seriously than they would take a female professor.

if you want to use your privilege for good, this seems like the best way to do it.

As a fellow academe and a woman who took Women's Studies classes as an undergrad, I say, "YES!!" Definitely.

It's so needed. There are a lot of guys who feel like they can't acknowledge sexism or patriarchy without claiming personal guilt, so they deny they exist. A male instructor might demonstrate that we can talk about the problem w/o having to be personally defensive.

My answer to your question is that yes, you can "only" be an ally, but that doesn't mean that you cannot be an educator. While I personally won't be handing you a feminist card anytime soon, I think it's the responsibility of allies to be educators in whatever capacity they have. I am neither a transfeminist nor a womanist, but it is my responsibility to educate those around me, to speak up for my trans and womanist fellow women. Not because they cannot speak for themselves, but so they do not always have to speak for themselves alone. If you have the ability to educate in a more formal setting, I think you can do good by doing so, as an ally.

I also second alixana's comment about making sure non-privileged voices are heard in your classroom. Make sure your readings are representing more than the center.

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments, everyone. I'm glad to hear that so many of you believe that there is a place for me as an educator in feminism. I understand your cautions about representative readings, and, as with anything I teach, providing a broad spectrum of positions is definitely a priority a priority of mine.

Thanks especially to alixana for the Schwyzer link. I've only had a chance to skim the site so far, but it seems really helpful so far.

As I understand, the chair of women's studies at the University of Washington is male. So, indeed, there have been cases where men have entered women's spaces and have done so well and at the same time did not disturb the dialogue or growth of the community.

Do remember that your gender no matter how genuine you are in your quest, does matter, perhaps not to you, but to the women in your class, whose experiences might render them silent because of your presense. I am just not sure what the solution might be, but I (and it's just me) that students might receive you much better of your presence appears to be one of facilitator rather than authority.

Lastly - and this is for a larger discussion within gender studies - what are the possibilities of you teaching gender studies classes, aimed at men and the deconstruction of masculinity? It seems there lacks a study of masculinity and gender roles within women's studies, and I think such a class will not only open new dialogue, but also put the onus of ending sexism on men - a group that, especially on college campuses, is in need of being engaged. Just as women's paradigms have been changed because of women-focused women's studies classes, allowing them to break the cycles of sexism, men-focused gender-studies classes can also help men break that cycle of sexism all of us have grown into.

I suggest looking up and talking to Michael Kimmell, professor of sociology at SUNY Brookstone. He's a male feminist professor and spokesperson for the National Organization for Men Against Sexism. I believe he teaches a male and masculinity class aimed exclusively at men. Link to his department's page is below.

http://www.sunysb.edu/sociology/?faculty/Kimmel/kimmel2

Good luck to you!

Also, I recommend a highly academic book about men's involvement in femiminism entitled "Men in Feminism" by Alice Jardine. It's a collection of essays about men's role within feminism. Rather than a primer, it explores gender and power, standpoint theories and lived experiences, and how they all affect men's involvement within feminism.

I bought it as an e-book, and would be happy to pass the password along so you can download it if you'd like.

Marc

I dislike comments saying that he should teach classes aimed at men. Really? I think that just further sends the message that men and women are sooooooo different and should have separate classes.

So what if he were trans? What if he didn't identify as male or female? Who should he teach then?

"After all, there isn't really anything that we can tell women, as men, about sexism that they don't already know or have experienced."

If it were true that you learn't everything you needed to know about how sexism worked simply by being a woman then there would be no need for women's studies classes (except for men).

I'm sure there is plenty of theory a man educated in feminism can teach women who have not been similarly educated.

I really hope you do it, and I hope that you give weight to the reality that men can (and should) be strong feminists. You might feel more comfortable if you started your semesters by mentioning the male elephant in the room and making your students feel comfortable sharing their voices.

I feel like a lot of people are stuck in outmoded ideas of what teaching is about. Sure, if he's just up there lecturing, his gender might be an issue. But if he's guiding a conversation within a community of learners, then it shouldn't matter nearly as much.

this is a complex topic for me.

i am a college student currently living in texas, but i am from boston (as seen in my name). in my history class we were recently discussing the holocaust. in boston, there is a very high jewish population, of which i belong to. i have known many survivors. here in texas, most people are baptist; many students here, i was shocked to learn, havent even heard of the holocaust before this class. my professor gave a very nice lecture on the topic. but i didnt stir my soul the way hearing memoirs from survivors has, or even hearing lectures from jewish teachers.

as a man, to stir the souls of our students; you need to go that extra mile. you need to make your students care by showing them why you, a man, care. so, can you teach women's studies? yes. perhaps you could even use that as your first lecture: why you teach about feminism, why you care, and why your students, regardless of gender, should care as well. good luck!