Joseph Gordon-Levitt
You all know him from Inception, The Dark Night Returns, and 500 Days Of Summer *swoon*, but he's important in the feminist movement as well. Gordon-Levitt recently wrote and directed his first film: "Don Jon". He noted that in the film industry, there's a lot of patriarchy and sexism in mainstream movies, so he wanted to make a movie that would look at some of the habits that our culture is currently in. In this film, Gordon-Levitt included some feminist themes, and he explained the importance of these themes on The Ellen Show .
"My mom brought me up to be a feminist. She would always point out to my brother and me that our culture does often portray women like objects... She wanted me and my brother to be aware of it because we see these images on TV, in the movies and on 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."
John Legend
John Legend: singer-songwriter, American heart-throb. He's a proud women's rights advocate and recently performed at the Chime For Change concert for equality. When he was there, he voiced his opinion on feminist men, and how they all should become one.
"All men should be feminists. If men care about women's rights the world would be a better place... We are better off when women are empowered—it leads to a better society."
He continues to be an advocate for feminism with his music video "You & I (Nobody In The World)", which helps promote self-acceptance and body-love in women, and his support isn't going to stop there.
Patrick Stewart
Professor X—oops, I mean Patrick Stewart—is a member of Refuge, which is a charity that provides safe accommodation for women and children in need. This cause is close to his heart because of the connection it has to his childhood. He spoke out against the violence his mother endured during a speech he gave for Amnesty International UK in October 2009 and mentioned that men have a responsibility to end this violence.
"I heard police or ambulancemen, standing in our house, saw 'She must have provoked him', or, 'Mrs Stewart, it takes two to make a fight." They had no idea. The truth is my mother did nothing to deserve the violence she endured. She did not provoke my father, and even if she had, violence is an unacceptable way of dealing with conflict. Violence is a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it."
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Gosling. He's one of my celebrity crushes (growing up watching "The Notebook" does that to you) and the crush just gets stronger when he talks about how he chooses his film roles. He stated that he's attracted to films that have strong female roles and characters because there are strong female characters in his life. But that's not the only reason why he's a feminist heartthrob. In his movie "Blue Valentine", there is a scene depicting a women receiving oral sex, and when the MPAA gave the movie an NC-17 rating, the actor spoke out about the media's discomfort with female pleasure.
"You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen... The MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario, which is both complicit and complex. It's misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman's sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film."
Ezra Miller
We know him for "Perks of Being a Wallflower," "We Need To Talk About Kevin," and his announced role in "The Flash," and now we know him for his part in the One Billion Rising To Stop Violence Against Women campaign in Times Square. While there, he made an announcement to the crowd about the violence that women endure.
"One in three women in the world will experience domestic violence or rape within the course of their lifetime. To me, I grew up in a household of women and I feel that all revolutionary causes should start with addressing misogyny."
Jay Baruchel
Jay Baruchel: voice of Hiccup from "How to Train Your Dragon", the awkward geek in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", and an advocate for women to play a bigger role in comedy films. He was raised by his mom and he has a little sister, so he's exposed to how terrible most female roles are written in almost everything, especially comedy.
"Their anatomy seems to be the only defining aspect of their character, and I just find that untruthful and it straight up offends me. A lot of the strongest people I know are chicks. And as a viewer, I get a kick out of watching real characters. So I take it upon myself to clean that up and write actual women. And I like writing strong women, because as a straight male, there's nothing more attractive to me than a strong girl."
Daniel Craig
He's James Bond and an advocate for feminism. In order to raise awareness about sexual inequality for International Women's Day on behalf of the equal rights campaign group weareequals.org, Daniel Craig wore women's clothes for a short film.
"Women are responsible for two thirds of the work done worldwide, yet earn only 10% of the total income and own 1 percent of the property…So, are we equals? Until the answer is yes, we must never stop asking."
