Let's hear it for the boys.

I woke up on saturday to find my social media feeds awash with feminism. This is always heartening. But it was especially heartening this time in that there seemed to be so many men on the case. Essentially, the recent discussions have centered around the absolutely shocking abuse and relentless rape threats targeting Caroline Criado-Perez, who is also part of the everyday sexism project - a tumblr that is so depressing and so close to the bone that I'm barely able to read it, at least not without vowing to myself that I will never, ever bring a daughter into this world.

Each in their own way, Sunny Hundal, Owen Jones & Charlie Brooker have been giving boys (and girls) across the UK & beyond a masterclass in real-world feminism lately.

Hundal has been excellent in highlighting the problem of misogynistic abuse on social media & the internet in general on his blog and has been very vocal in campaigning for better safeguards on social media to report abuse.

Jones has too, and I was particularly impressed with this tweet of his from Sunday.

Turned down media requests about the twitter abuse situation because the debate really needs to be dominated by women. Come on producers!
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) July 28, 2013

Feminism is, on the whole, not so popular with men. Nor is it with women for that matter, many of whom describe it as "extreme". But a uniquely aggressive brand of hostility (even among men I would regard as very politically progressive) is reserved for the suggestion that if men want to do women a favour they could stand to pipe down occasionally. This is often regarded as akin to censorship for men, and as patronizing to women.

But when you see panels on television and conferences everywhere that are entirely dominated by men, when you see the same male pundits over and over again, when you sit back in a room and observe how much the men are speaking versus the women (even when women are the majority) you start to think maybe things need a little nudge in the right direction. In the case of public appearances, perhaps it simply did not occur to the producers/organizers to ask a woman who may have equal (or superior) expertise and experience on an issue (especially if that issue concerns women directly!) and simply chose someone with a higher profile out of sheer lack of imagination.

In the case of sitting in a room and realising that women outnumber men 2 to 1 but are only speaking for 20% of the time, yes - here the ladies do need to take a measure of responsibility. It may well be (in fact it is) that we've been socialized into speaking more concisely than men and are more reluctant to come forward on the whole, especially if we doubt our knowledge on an issue, but we need to somehow override this default setting if the balance is ever to be rectified. It cannot just be a few confident and outspoken ladies doing all the legwork to fix the ratios. We all need to speak up, no matter how hard it might be.

But the men sitting in the same room also have a role to play. I've witnessed firsthand the rather disturbing outrage that the suggestion that men should sometimes hold back and listen a bit more is generally met with. But Jones shows us how it's done. Giving up a platform isn't some kind of dishonourable show of cowardice or self-censorship. If you really want to change things, sometimes it's necessary. In the case of suggesting a female colleague to speak in one's place on an issue because she would simply be a better choice - it's also just a fair and sensible thing to do.

Then there is Brooker, whose recent Guardian column not only draws attention to the plight of female writers, but also expresses why he himself does not wish to continue to occupy a platform when he feels he does not have something particularly valuable to contribute. This is not necessarily just about women of course. It's a sentiment which is admirable for a range of reasons. Realizing that you have enough profile, and taking a step back - is just a very decent and humble thing to do, whether or not that space is likely to be taken up by someone from any group less well represented than heterosexual white men.

This is what it means to check your (in this case male) privilege. But it's also just about showing empathy towards other human beings.

So - let's give the boys a hand.