I’m a cis male and I believe in the importance of feminism, but I hesitate to call myself a feminist because it seems like there is a presumption of understanding women’s experiences as if I was part of the Me Too movement. In some binary sense given how hateful and shitty men can be I’m absolutely a feminist, but I wouldn’t declare myself to be one. What is your standpoint?
Being a woman is the only thing that gives you access to women’s experiences, but being a woman doesn’t automatically make you a feminist.
Understanding women’s experiences (i.e., being a woman) and being a feminist are orthogonal things.