Profeminist

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A person who strives for gender equality by endorsing women's rights and involving men in the feminist discourse
2. An advocate for women’s rights who seeks to promote equality through cooperation and active involvement of all genders in feminist efforts
3. Someone who supports feminism by promoting equal rights for all genders and encouraging participation from everyone

Etymology: "Profeminist" is a plain compound: the prefix "pro-", meaning "in favour of" (from Latin "pro", "for" or "on behalf of"), attached to "feminist". The prefix is a productive one in English, appearing in pairings such as "pro-choice" and "pro-life", so the new word follows a familiar pattern: it names a supporter of a cause rather than a member of its core movement. The word's sense is narrower than its parts suggest. A feminist is someone who advocates women's rights, but a profeminist is typically a man, or someone outside women's advocacy circles, who endorses those goals and takes an active part in the debate. The coinage therefore marks a deliberate distinction: the cause is the same, but the speaker's position within it is different.