Usually people who proclaim that they are not feminists are doing it because they want to distance themselves from connotations with the movement.

Yes, but if you restrictively define feminism, it becomes a perfectly valid statement, which is my point. There then becomes a connotation worth distancing yourself from.

Sure, but that's an uncommon definition, and not what most people would understand you to be saying.

I feel pretty strongly that men can definitely be feminists. I know there are some who would disagree, but I've never felt that mine is a minority view.

but that's an uncommon definition, and not what most people would understand you to be saying

But it's specifically what I'm talking about right now--I asked about the intersection of the people who place such restrictions on the definition and the people who deride that statement. I didn't pull it out with no context.

Luther to be made a movie? [link]

But it's specifically what I'm talking about right now--I asked about the intersection of the people who place such restrictions on the definition and the people who deride that statement. I didn't pull it out with no context.

I read meara's "it seems to frame feminism in a bad light" as based on common understanding of the term and common use of the phrase. That's what I was responding to.

I asked about the intersection of the people who place such restrictions on the definition and the people who deride that statement

Right. And in that case, if you say "Men cannot be feminists because they are not women", the appropriate thing to do/say as a (helpful/ally/supportive) man would be "I am not a woman, but I support feminism" (or vice versa, "I support feminism even though I'm a man" or whatever), NOT "I'm not a feminist"--is that because you don't like feminism or because you don't feel you're allowed to call yourself one?

FWIW, I think the "men can't be feminists" POV is eyerolly BS.

Feminism is the belief that women are equal to men and should have equal rights. Being a feminist doesn't require any particular body part other than a brain.

I read meara's "it seems to frame feminism in a bad light" as based on common understanding of the term

Ah, okay. Well, then it's meara who's misunderstanding me, because I'm referring about the specific definition here that I mentioned earlier.

the appropriate thing to do/say as a (helpful/ally/supportive) man would be "I am not a woman, but I support feminism"

But I'm not a man. I'm a woman who doesn't want to ally herself with a movement that's defined itself to explicitly exclude men.

I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this week without this project making me cry tears of frustration.