Today, I change my identity.

6 months ago, I started looking into the MRM. I subscribed to /r/Feminism, /r/AskFeminists, and /r/MensRights in an effort to become as fully educated as I could be by both sides. At this time, I identified as feminist. I believed in Male Privilege and the Patriarchy, believed that my own sexual victimization was almost a statistical impossibility, and believed that the MRM was ridiculous for possibly believing that men were Oppressed.

Almost immediately, I started identifying as an egalitarian. Some days I would call myself a feminist, other days I wouldn't. But I was loath to place the label on myself of MRA. I had read a lot of man boobz (which I now realize is a terrible site), and had serious concerns about specific MRAs, and hated the general anti-feminism that plagues the MRM. Many of my friends, including my girlfriend, are feminists, and good people. They actively fight sexism, racism, and homophobia, each in their own way. Jane volunteers as a counselor in a Women's Centre. Jill participates in a biweekly discussion on homophobia. Mike gets angry at people who are sexist against women. I know too many good feminists to be anti-feminist. I live with them, play Chess with them, laugh with them, cry with them. 6 months ago, I was one.

I change my identity today because I went to Edmonton. I met with the MRAs there, and never before have I met a more diverse group of people. From a bisexual genderqueer atheist waitress with a mind that rivals Einstein, to a straight white cismale business professor, a ex-homeless agnostic man, a nerdy black stripper, a guy who is crazy about Android, a half-native man with a birth defect, a father of three going through a rough custody battle with an abusive ex-wife, a sweet grandmother from Thailand, and many more whose stories I didn't hear. They were good people (Canadians), and most definitely were not "racist, sexist, anti-gay". I have nothing but sympathy for the personal stories I've heard from them, and I'm glad to join the ranks of the MRM.