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[40]Science + Technology Two intertwined legs in bed Public commitments to feminism translated into private benefits for heterosexual men. (Shutterstock) Men who identify as feminists are having more — and more varied — sex April 4, 2021 8.00am EDT [41]Max Stick, McMaster University Author 1. [42]Max Stick PhD Candidate, Sociology, McMaster University Disclosure statement Max Stick receives funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Partners [43]McMaster University [44]McMaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation CA. [45]McMaster University provides funding as a member of The Conversation CA-FR. [46]View all partners * [47]Email * [48]Twitter * [49]Facebook * [50]LinkedIn * [51]WhatsApp * [52]Messenger In 2015, Justin Trudeau surprised many by [53]claiming a feminist identity. Numerous [54]celebrities and entertainers have recently asserted themselves as feminists, and [55]some have even chastised those who reject feminism. While more and more men from across social divides have [56]begun supporting feminist values and asserting a feminist identity, many are scrutinized for talking the talk but not walking the walk. Feminism is predicated on support for gender equality. Men may associate with feminism to [57]help distance themselves from outdated gender roles, bringing them in line with current sociopolitical trends. In a recent article I co-authored with sociologist [58]Tina Fetner, we looked at whether [59]feminist men care about equality in the bedroom, the most intimate environment where the gender oppression may play out. Specifically, we were interested in how the sex lives of feminist men differed from non-feminist men: Did their personal politics mean they acted differently when having sex with women? (BUTTON) Beyond simply claiming a progressive identity, what sort of behaviours accompany a feminist identity? Do feminist men actually live up to their identity in various aspects of their lives? IFRAME: [60]https://www.youtube.com/embed/_G9jgYBN5Zs?wmode=transparent&start=0 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explains why he describes himself as a feminist. Surveying men Seeking answers to these questions, we analyzed a sub-sample of self-identifying heterosexual men from a larger survey on sex and sexuality in Canada. [61]The Sex in Canada survey is a nationally representative survey of Canadian adults. It asks questions not only about sexuality, but also about personal sexual behaviours, sexual history and political and social values. __________________________________________________________________ Read more: [62]Condoms are the best defence against rising sexually transmitted infections __________________________________________________________________ Of all the straight Canadian men surveyed, we found that only about 22 per cent of men actually identified as feminist. Most men, around 60 per cent, said they were not feminists, and about 18 per cent were “not sure.” And, as with feminist women in [63]previous studies, feminist men were more likely to have higher levels of education. Feminism = more sex Taking a look at how recently men engage in certain sex acts, we found feminist men had more sex than non-feminist men. Specifically, feminist men reported having intercourse and both performing and receiving oral sex with women partners more recently than non-feminist men. While feminist men reported giving oral sex to their partners more recently, they also engaged in intercourse and received oral sex more recently than non-feminist men, suggesting they do not sacrifice their own pleasure. Instead, we believe feminist men continue to benefit from traditional approaches to sex that emphasize sex acts pleasurable for men. Taking a deeper look at this, we examined men’s most recent sexual encounter to further test if intimate encounters differed between groups. Feminist men, and those who said they were unsure of their feminist stance, were more likely than non-feminists to have intercourse and engage in breast touching or nipple stimulation. Feminist men and even those who were not sure, reported giving oral sex to their female partners at higher rates than non-feminists. This is critical as research consistently finds that clitoral stimulation through [64]oral sex is an important and pleasurable act that brings women to orgasm. [65]A couple snuggling in bed Feminist men were more likely to give — and receive — oral sex in their most recent sexual encounter. (Shutterstock) Gender equality in private and public All too frequently we see men say one thing and do another; we tend to focus primarily on public attitudes and behaviours. We have little knowledge of what goes on beyond closed doors. Although men who claim a feminist identity may not be more equitable in their everyday public interactions with women, our findings suggest that identifying as a feminist matters in private settings. In private sexual encounters, feminist men and those ambivalent toward feminism, perform sexual behaviours targeting women’s pleasure at a higher rate than those disavowing feminism, suggesting these men may care about their partners as expressed through the performance of equality in sexual pleasure. Many men claiming a feminist identity also declare support for gender equality. Our results indicate this purported support coincides with a commitment to gender equality in sexual interaction. Feminist men help transcend sexual (interaction) inequality by bridging the gender gap in orgasms. While this is a good sign, we encourage further conversation and research addressing inequality in private heterosexual relations. * [66]Feminism * [67]Sex * [68]Sexuality * [69]Men * [70]Society * [71]Feminists * [72]feminist * [73]sex lives Want to write? Write an article and join a growing community of more than 124,500 academics and researchers from 3,968 institutions. 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References Visible links 1. https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197 2. https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197 3. https://theconversation.com/us 4. https://theconversation.com/us/covid-19 5. https://theconversation.com/us/arts 6. https://theconversation.com/us/business 7. https://theconversation.com/us/education 8. https://theconversation.com/us/environment 9. https://theconversation.com/us/ethics 10. https://theconversation.com/us/health 11. https://theconversation.com/us/politics 12. https://theconversation.com/us/technology 13. https://theconversation.com/us/espanol 14. https://theconversation.com/us 15. https://theconversation.com/us 16. https://theconversation.com/africa 17. https://theconversation.com/au 18. https://theconversation.com/ca 19. https://theconversation.com/ca-fr 20. https://theconversation.com/es 21. https://theconversation.com/fr 22. https://theconversation.com/global 23. https://theconversation.com/id 24. https://theconversation.com/nz 25. https://theconversation.com/uk 26. https://donate.theconversation.com/us?utm_source=theconversation.com&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=topbar 27. https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_campaign=System&utm_content=newsletter&utm_medium=TopBar&utm_source=theconversation.com 28. https://theconversation.com/become-an-author 29. https://theconversation.com/sign_up?return_to=/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197 30. https://theconversation.com/sign_in?return_to=/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197 31. https://theconversation.com/us 32. https://theconversation.com/us/covid-19 33. https://theconversation.com/us/arts 34. https://theconversation.com/us/business 35. https://theconversation.com/us/education 36. https://theconversation.com/us/environment 37. https://theconversation.com/us/ethics 38. https://theconversation.com/us/health 39. https://theconversation.com/us/politics 40. https://theconversation.com/us/technology 41. https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197 42. https://theconversation.com/profiles/max-stick-1202079 43. https://theconversation.com/institutions/mcmaster-university-930 44. https://theconversation.com/institutions/mcmaster-university-930 45. https://theconversation.com/institutions/mcmaster-university-930 46. https://theconversation.com/us/partners 47. mailto:?subject=Men who identify as feminists are having more — and more varied — sex — The Conversation&body=Hi. I found an article that you might like: "Men who identify as feminists are having more — and more varied — sex" — https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197 48. http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Men+who+identify+as+feminists+are+having+more+—+and+more+varied+—+sex&url=https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton&utm_campaign=none&via=ConversationCA 49. http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=bylinefacebookbutton 50. http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&source=The+Conversation&summary=In+2015,+Justin+Trudeau+surprised+many+by+[claiming+a+feminist+identity](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/17/justin-trudeau-feminist-twitter-explodes).+Numerous+[celebrities+and+entertain...&title=Men+who+identify+as+feminists+are+having+more+—+and+more+varied+—+sex&url=https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=bylinelinkedinbutton 51. whatsapp://send/?text=Men+who+identify+as+feminists+are+having+more+—+and+more+varied+—+sex+https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=bylinewhatsappbutton 52. fb-messenger://share/?link=https://theconversation.com/men-who-identify-as-feminists-are-having-more-and-more-varied-sex-158197?utm_source=fb_messenger&utm_medium=bylinefb_messenger_button 53. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/17/justin-trudeau-feminist-twitter-explodes 54. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2015.1005382 55. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2015.1005405 56. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2005.0005 57. https://doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-20-3-283 58. https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/people/fetner-tina 59. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20980789 60. https://www.youtube.com/embed/_G9jgYBN5Zs?wmode=transparent&start=0 61. https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/sexuality-attitudes-practices-and-policy/news/launch-of-a-nationally-representative-canadian-survey-of-sex-in-canada-1 62. https://theconversation.com/condoms-are-the-best-defence-against-rising-sexually-transmitted-infections-133415 63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243204273498 64. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2018.1563014 65. https://images.theconversation.com/files/393014/original/file-20210401-23-1q6407s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip 66. https://theconversation.com/topics/feminism-53 67. https://theconversation.com/topics/sex-114 68. https://theconversation.com/topics/sexuality-335 69. https://theconversation.com/topics/men-1849 70. https://theconversation.com/topics/society-5761 71. https://theconversation.com/topics/feminists-44402 72. https://theconversation.com/topics/feminist-54790 73. https://theconversation.com/topics/sex-lives-70618 74. https://theconversation.com/become-an-author 75. https://theconversation.com/us/community-standards 76. https://theconversation.com/us/republishing-guidelines 77. https://theconversation.com/us/friends 78. https://analytics.theconversation.com/us 79. https://theconversation.com/us/feeds 80. https://donate.theconversation.com/us?utm_source=theconversation.com&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=footer 81. https://theconversation.com/us/who-we-are 82. https://theconversation.com/us/charter 83. https://theconversation.com/us/team 84. https://theconversation.com/us/partners 85. https://theconversation.com/us/resources-for-media 86. https://theconversation.com/us/contact-us 87. https://theconversation.com/us/espanol 88. https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom 89. https://www.linkedin.com/company/conversationus 90. https://theconversation.com/us/privacy-policy 91. https://theconversation.com/us/terms-and-conditions 92. https://theconversation.com/us/corrections 93. https://theconversation.com/us/who-we-are Hidden links: 95. https://theconversation.com/us 96. https://facebook.com/theConversationUS 97. https://twitter.com/ConversationUS