This qualitative study examines how men respond to learning feminism in the context of college women’s studies courses. Specifically, it categorizes and describes forms of resistance to feminism that men enact through discourses that serve to reinforce and reproduce male privileges despite their stated willingness to learn feminism and position themselves as allies. This study is based on data collected from in-depth interviews with eight men taking women’s studies courses at a large Southeastern university. Discourses used by participants are discussed as three larger appeals: to self, to progress, and to authority. After a description of the discourses within each appeal, interconnections among discourses are made to examine how men avoid reflectively questioning their male privilege. In conclusion, the author discusses implications for a feminist pedagogy that helps male students consciously, personally, and actively engage with feminism.
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