Joseph Gordon-Levitt Totally Nails Why Men Should Call Themselves Feminists

[YoungDemCA]

In the video, titled “Re: Feminism,” Gordon-Levitt eloquently espouses gender equality, which he says his mom first instilled in him as a child.

“To me it just means that your gender doesn’t have to define who you are,” he said. “That you can be whatever you want to be, whoever you want to be, regardless of your gender.”

...he said some people were against the use of the word, finding it to be “sort of anti-men.”

“There were some people that were saying that feminism made sense in the past but it doesn’t anymore because men and women are equal now,” Gordon-Levitt says in the video. “I’m not an expert but I think the facts are pretty contrary to this.”

The 33-year-old told DeGeneres his mom taught him that women can frequently be regarded as objects, and if we don’t work to fight sexism it can become a part of our belief system.

“She wanted my brother and I to be aware of it because we see these images on TV and in movies and in magazines all the time, and if we don’t stop and think about it it just sort of seeps into your brain, and that becomes the way you perceive reality.”

As he explained to the Daily Beast, he sees feminism as beneficial to all genders, not just women.

“If everyone has a fair chance to be what they want to be and do what they want to do, it’s better for everyone,” he said.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/joseph-gordon-levitt-men-should-be-feminists#2p3iek8

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, YoungDemCA.

[TDale313]

2. He's awesome.

That's an ally.

[Demit]

3. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a very cool guy.

Love his movie choices. Loved him ever since Third Rock From the Sun. This just makes me respect him even more.

[MohRokTah]

4. Feminism is the extremely radical notion that women are people.

Harsh, but true.

[nomorenomore08]

13. Yeah, I think the mere fact that women's basic bodily autonomy is still a controversial issue

shows that that notion is still too radical for some folks.

[Skittles]

5. *SWOON*

loves me some Joseph

[AngryAmish]

6. I loved his Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[Cha]

7. Smart guy.."“If everyone has a fair chance to be what they want to be and do what they want to do,

it’s better for everyone,”

Mahalo YDCA

[Nye Bevan]

8. Here's why all men should call themselves feminists:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feminist?s=t

Pretty simple, really.

[freshwest]

9. This resonates with me as a liberal and progressive and a Democrat:

“To me it just means that your gender doesn’t have to define who you are,” he said. “That you can be whatever you want to be, whoever you want to be, regardless of your gender.”

And this too:

“If everyone has a fair chance to be what they want to be and do what they want to do, it’s better for everyone,” he said.

This is what our platform calls for across all the sexes along the continuum; and all the races and everything else, even going into that part of life that is not part of humanity. I don't see any way to be happy without this. It's ubuntu:

Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirit. There is a word in South Africa- Ubuntu – that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us. We can never know how much of this was innate in him, or how much was shaped and burnished in a dark, solitary cell. But we remember the gestures, large and small – introducing his jailors as honored guests at his inauguration; taking the pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS – that revealed the depth of his empathy and understanding. He not only embodied Ubuntu; he taught millions to find that truth within themselves. It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailor as well; to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion, generosity and truth. He changed laws, but also hearts.

to Sheshe:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110220086

[sheshe2]

10. Wow!

Thanks for re-posting that freshwest.

There is a word in South Africa- Ubuntu – that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

It was another awesome smartypants post. She nails it every damn time.

[freshwest]

12. And you brought it here!

[longship]

17. Ahhh! Yup!

Anybody who cannot see this inescapable truth is either delusional, or brainwashed by some insidious ideology. Neither will gain humankind anything.

The only hope is the equality of all humans, all over the world.

I like the way FDR expressed it in 1941:

On edit: this is the right one.

[calimary]

19. These are great quotes! This young man is very impressive in his thinking.

"...that your gender doesn't have to define who you are..."

The sheer simplicity of that statement. Impressive!

[nomorenomore08]

11. While I don't identify specifically as a feminist, I do identify as politically progressive.

And to me, that should imply some level of concern with feminist issues. Just as much as it should imply concern with racial equality or LGBT rights, as these are all pretty basic human rights issues.

[YoungDemCA]

15. Some level of concern with feminists...

...and support for their goals, as well!

[nomorenomore08]

18. That too. It's the same struggle for all of us, really. We just come at it from different angles. nt

[valerief]

14. If you're a feminist, you believe women aren't shit you can bully and beat down.

If you believe this, you believe everything that naturally follows.

[SunSeeker]

16. K & R

[smirkymonkey]

20. K&R! Bravo!

Great post!