’cause after all, it’s al about equality!
John Legend.
“All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights, the world will be a better place. We are better off when women are empowered — it leads to a better society.”
Lena Dunham.
“Women saying ‘I’m not a feminist’ is my greatest pet peeve. Do you believe that women should be paid the same for doing the same jobs? Do you believe that women should be allowed to leave the house? Do you think that women and men both deserve equal rights? Great, then you’re a feminist. People think there is something taboo about speaking up for feminism.”
Amy Poehler.
“I think some big actors and musicians feel like they have to speak to their audience and that word is confusing to their audience. But I don’t get it. That’s like someone being like, ’I don’t really believe in cars, but I drive one every day and I love that it gets me places and makes life so much easier and faster and I don’t know what I would do without it.’ ”
Claire Danes.
“I am a feminist. And I’m so glad that Lena Dunham exists, because she is one too, and she’s quite vocal about it. Yes, women have more freedom and more influence than ever, but it’s hardly equal. It’s just not. It’s really f–king crazy. I’m sorry I’m cursing. But it’s wild that women are underrepresented [in Hollywood]. I have real anxiety about directing, and that’s something to question and challenge and correct.”
Ellen Page.
“I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists … but how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word? … Feminism always gets associated with being a radical movement — good. It should be. A lot of what the radical feminists [in the 1970s] were saying, I don’t disagree with it.”
Beyoncé aka Queen Bey.
“Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal? These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. And we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible.”
Kathleen Hanna.
Hanna sites poverty as the biggest challenge for women right now.
“Because if you’re just trying to put food on the table, you’re not part of the conversation. Everybody else is making decisions for you. And in terms of the feminist movement, if we don’t hear from a huge, huge, huge segment of the population, and they aren’t involved in creating the feminist movement, then the feminist movement dies.”
Patrick Stewart.
“The truth is that domestic violence and violence against women touch many of us. This violence is not a private matter. Behind closed doors it is shielded and hidden and it only intensifies. It is protected by silence — everyone’s silence. Violence against women is learned. Each of us must examine — and change — the ways in which our own behavior might contribute to, enable, ignore or excuse all such forms of violence. I promise to do so, and to invite other men and allies to do the same.”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
“I do call myself a feminist. Absolutely!”
“We would always watch Lakers games as a family, but my mom would always point out every time the cheerleaders came on, ’OK, so look, here’s the story that gets told: The men get to be the heroic skilled athletes and the women just get to be pretty. She wanted me and my brother to be aware of it because we see these images on TV, in the movies, and in magazines all the time. And if you don’t stop and think about it, it just sort of seeps into your brain and that becomes the way you perceive reality.”
Grimes.
“I dont want to be infantilized because i refuse to be sexualized
“I dont want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction
“I dont want to live in a world where im gonna have to start employing body guards because this kind of behavior is so commonplace and accepted …
“I’m tired of men who aren’t professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to ‘help me out’ (without being asked), as if i did this by accident and i’m gonna flounder without them. … I have never seen this kind of thing happen to any of my male peers.”
Ashton Kutcher.
“I think there’s so much that’s not said about sex in our country, even from an educational level … the one thing they teach about is how to get pregnant or how to not get pregnant, but they don’t really talk about sex as a point of pleasure for women. … Part of that creates a place where women aren’t empowered around their own sexuality and their own sexual selves, and from a purely entertainment point of view, to create a movie with a female lead that’s empowered with her own sexuality is a powerful thing.”
Tavi Gevinson for Elle: I read that you consider yourself a feminist. What does that mean to you?
MC: I’m just about equality, period. It’s not like, I’m a woman, women should be in charge! I just want there to be equality for everybody.
TG: Right! And that’s what feminism is.
MC: I still don’t think we’re there 100 percent. I mean, guy rappers grab their crotch all f–king day and have hos around them, but no one talks about it. But if I grab my crotch and I have hot model bitches around me, I’m degrading women? I’m a woman—I should be able to have girls around me! But I’m part of the evolution of that. I hope.
Joss Whedon.
“You either believe that women are people or you don’t.”
“If you’re someone who genuinely believes that women don’t deserve or aren’t as much as men, you’re like the plague. On the big history chart, you’re the plague. … It’s just pointless and deadly.”
Kate Nash.
“FEMINISM is not a dirty word. It does not mean you hate men, it does not mean you hate girls that have nice legs and a tan, and it does not mean you are a ‘bitch’ or ‘d-ke’, it means you believe in equality.”
Emma Watson.
“I’m a feminist, but I think that romance has been taken away a bit for my generation. I think what people connect with in novels is this idea of an overpowering, encompassing love — and it being more important and special than anything and everything else. I would love to not date someone in the same industry as me. Otherwise it becomes what it means to everyone else.”
Feminism for all! Equality for all! YAY!
xoxo Girls Girls.
