A young man from Tooting has launched a new website in a bid to educate men about subjects around feminism and social injustices to create a better future.
Having studied gender studies at Oxford Brookes University, Harry Hopkins, 25, has always been a supporter of equality for all and challenging social norms.
His website, For Female Sake, was created in early January to help educate people to see society more fairly and make better judgements.
Hopkins wanted to launch the site to help influence other men, and open up a conversation around taboo subjects.
He said: “I got more of an understanding about men and women in society after studying the subject at university. When I was a teenager I didn’t have an understanding of how different cultures and societies work.
“The last 12 months, I started researching and noticed it was mostly women empowering women, with no activity from men empowering women.
“I thought I may as well start something and make a difference myself. Whether it works or not, I wanted to try.
“As I play a lot of sports, one being rugby, there are a lot of guys who have a guard up and have a less understanding of the equality between men and women which I noticed.
“I think that men listen to men and are influenced by other men, which is why I set up the website to open up a new conversation with them.
“Whether or not people want to speak about these topics, having the platform to do so is what I wanted to do.
“The response from people after launching the website has been really positive. A lot of people have engaged with it and shared their experiences and thoughts.”
The website covers a number of blogs regarding masculinity issues, the history of feminism, LGBTQ issues, and the patriarchy, as well as general advice.
The site’s bio reads: “Not all men harm women, not all men disrespect women, yet most men are not doing anything about it.
“Join the community of men trying to support women in their fight for justice and equality. Men created the struggles in the world, so let’s fix it! It’s never too late to start!”
In the wake of Sarah Everard’s death, women across the country took to social media to share their experiences of feeling unsafe in public places, as well as advice for men on how to prevent this.
A report, conducted by UN Women UK, revealed that 71% of women of all ages in the UK have experienced a form of sexual harassment in a public space.
A small 3% of women said they had not experienced any form of sexual harrassment.
Although Hopkins set up his site prior to Everard’s death, he decided to start including a lot more in his blogs covering solutions that men should take in order to improve women’s safety.
Hopkins added: “Sarah’s death really hit home for me and I agree with what women say.
“When I heard the figure of how many women have experienced a form of harassment, I really couldn’t get my head around it.
“I also think when men say ‘it’s not all men’, they aren’t helping the situation. They are just being a part of the problem not the solution.
“I really hope I can help men gain a better understanding of feminism and equality, as well as getting people involved from all different backgrounds to learn from each other.”
Featured image credit: Harry Hopkins
