As a proud male feminist, I believe it's important for men to rally around the feminist movement to provide support and to act as an example for other men to follow. So it confuses me that at university a shockingly large number of male students I speak to refuse to apply the term to themselves, instead being evasive and avoiding such an empowering title.

I often encounter negative reactions when declaring myself a male feminist at university.

Before visiting an open forum recently, entitled "The F Word: Is feminism still relevant?" at the University of Warwick, I invited a friend to come with me. He sniggered and said: "Why would you go to a talk on feminism. You're a guy!"

I find this attitude among male students worrying. The way we act now shapes how we will go on to live our lives in the future. And where does the idea that men cannot be feminists come from? Perhaps it stems from male panic, that, foolishly, male students worry they may lose power and opportunity in a world of feminism.

Perhaps guy students are embarrassed to align themselves with a word that lexically alludes to female-centrism. Maybe they're worried about feeling emasculated.

But feminism simply means you believe in equality; it certainly doesn't mean you become any less "manly".

I think the main reason so few male students identify as feminists is because of the spreading virus of lad culture at university. Lad culture is the idea that overt acts of masculinity prove some form of superiority over others.

The reality is that lad culture is a prominent part of university life. Club nights often encourage the sexualisation and degradation of women through dress code, and lad values tell male students it's important to get drunk, pull women and act like a noteworthy lad.

Lad culture means that male students are less likely to call themselves feminists for fear of embarrassing themselves, even if they believe in gender equality.

It's hardly laddish to try and deconstruct a patriarchal system. Lad culture at university makes many potential male feminists feel demeaned; it can be hard to fit in if you don't keep up with "the lads".

The prevalence of lad culture on campus and among students normalises the degradation of women and reinforces the idea that it's cooler to be a "masculine man" than a "feminist man". The truth is, masculinity and feminism aren't mutually exclusive but the sexist nature of lad culture suggests they are.

It's not just lads holding male students back from identifying as feminists. Some female students who I have talked to have told me I can support feminists and believe in the movement, but: "You can't be a feminist yourself, you're not a woman".

I think there is a place for male feminism at university. Male feminists like me just want to support their fellow human beings in the fight for equality. University students need to help cultivate male feminism by opening the doors to the cause of feminism. Male students shouldn't be repressed by the belief that you've got to be a lad, and female students shouldn't promote a lack of inclusivity.

Both genders need to unite and accept the role of male students in the feminist movement. In the words of Colm Dempsy, a male feminist who spoke at the forum I attended: "I am a proud male feminist. I am willing to fight with you. If you let me." This is a statement every man, inside university and outside, should be able to shout without fear of being silenced by society.

• On Friday 21 February Guardian Students will be live blogging the National Union of Student's (NUS) summmit on lad culture. Speakers will include Laura Bates and Toni Pearce. We will follow the day as students and speakers ask how to tackle lad culture at universities.