Practicing Feminism Outside of the Classroom

I learned a great deal this from our course. Our class discussions have been invaluable in my (re)processing of the world at large. With that said, I often wonder what to do with all of this information. Is it enough to merely to criticize the problematic elements of media and culture? How do we enact change? Do we engage in Feminist discourse with those around us? And, if so, how does one go about it?

Unlike many of my male Feminist peers these sort of values were instilled in me at an early age. My mother is an academic, so I was reading theorists like bell hooks from an early age. I went to a super progressive liberal arts school that was three-quarters female and where nearly everyone (accurately or otherwise) referred to themselves as a Feminist. But often when interacting with men (and women) outside of this bubble I realize how different others see the world.

As someone who played sports growing up and into college, it's disheartening to discover how embedded misogyny and rape culture have become in society. I've twice had to quit basketball teams because teammates of mine committed sexual assaults which my schools' athletics programs and (even worse) administrations were complicit in covering up. It's so pervasive that I feel like I can't be a part of those patriarchal, male-dominated spaces at all.

When I talk to other Feminists they sometimes say to use my supposed influence as a male to reach other males, but I'm not sure how effective that is. It seems to me that one dissenting voice in a locker-room or in a lecture hall isn't enough. How do you create a groundswell of opposition in men for something designed to benefit them? I ask all of this because I have no clue. It just feels sometimes like we're pushing a rock up a hill just to see it roll back down.