Column: Rape culture — it’s on us as men

If we are serious about addressing rape culture, more men must embrace being a feminist as part of their identity.

To me, and many other men, being raped is something we do not ever think about. Most of us do not think that we will ever lose control of a situation and be raped — we do not fear being catcalled or assaulted while walking past dusk alone. We don’t think about it, so we don’t talk about it. We do not talk about it, so we do not do anything about it.

It is because we remain silent, passive people that rape culture and inequality between sexes persist. We must not put our own selfish social desires and fear of discomfort above what is right.

Our silence is more harmful than we know.

I used to think it wasn’t my place to be a feminist because I am a man — I thought I just believed in “equal rights.” But this is exactly why it is my place and all of our places to stand with women and address these issues, because we are all in this together.

Rape culture doesn’t just rely on silence and passivity — it feeds off it. We feed rape culture when a friend says something that objectifies women and we don’t call them out. By being passive, we are enabling it to exist. We enable the legal system to laugh at or ignore victims when they reach for help.

We must force the discussion on sexual assault and rape. We, as feminists, should never stop talking about this. And it isn’t just the recent Delaney Robinson case. It is every nameless, faceless case that goes unreported because of fear. We must stand together for every rape kit that goes untested. These issues persist because we remain passive and comfortable.

We must acknowledge that being feminists makes us better men.

So I call on all of us, as men, to embrace feminism. We must do this even if it makes us uncomfortable.

We must confront this because it makes us uncomfortable.

It is our job, as human beings, to affirm that a woman’s place is wherever the f--- she pleases, whether it be a lab, courtroom or in sports. It is not our job to put women into a box — it is our job to solidify that this country is all of ours to grow together equally.

Being a feminist as a man is not a knock to our masculinity, but rather reinforces our masculinity.

We can live in a world where we raise our children to respect one another for who they are as human beings.

We must teach our sons that it is not okay to objectify everything women do — when we do not teach our daughters to do the same. We must do everything we can to eliminate this inferiority complex in America that is associated with women.

As men, we must stop sexualizing every single thing a woman does — and be decent human beings. A woman is never asking for it — it is all about respect for a person.