With the election of Donald Trump in January, many women prepared themselves for a year of defeat. And while Trump hasn’t let us down in that area, there have been some surprising benefits to Trump’s seemingly anti-women presidency. Combined with opening the floodgates of sexual harassment allegations, the brazen Trump administration has brought out the inner feminist of many high-profile men. From Hollywood to government, these are some of the men making a positive impact on the feminist movement.
Justin Trudeau
On the International Day of the Girl, Trudeau published an exclusive essay for MarieClaire.com called “Why I’m Raising My Kids to Be Feminists”. And while the essay is filled with empowering quotes regarding the future for his daughter and other feminist calls to action, one of the standout quotes addresses his sons: “Gender equality is not only an issue for women and girls. All of us benefit when women and girls have the same opportunities as men and boys—and it’s on all of us to make that a reality. Our sons have the power and the responsibility to change our culture of sexism, and I want Xavier and Hadrien—when he’s a little older—to understand that deeply. But I want, too, to help them grow into empathetic young people and adults, strong allies who walk through the world with openness, love, and a fierce attachment to justice. I want my sons to escape the pressure to be a particular kind of masculine that is so damaging to men and to the people around them. I want them to be comfortable being themselves, and being feminists—who stand up for what’s right, and who can look themselves in the eye with pride.”
Kevin de León
As the California Senate President Pro Tempore, de León has had a lot of impact in the area of California politics. But having recently announced his bid to unseat incumbent United States Senator Dianne Feinstein in the 2018 election, his name is starting to garner more attention. And although a man trying to unseat a women from the U.S. Senate may seem far from female-positive, his past policies and voting records say otherwise. With a Republican-majority Congress leading a seemingly constant attack on Planned Parenthood, de León has remained a steadfast supporter of Planned Parenthood and women’s rights in general. When Planned Parenthood advocated this year for an increase in higher Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for reproductive health care, Senator de León carried their fight into budget negotiations and secured $50 million from Proposition 56 tobacco tax revenue. He has consistently supported the preservation of federal funding for family planning and other Planned Parenthood services. And on top of this, in 2014, de León wrote the first law in the nation that requires affirmative consent in response to the serious problem of sexual assault on college campuses. He continued his efforts into 2015 when he created legislation that requires public high schools to include sexual assault prevention in health education class curricula. So while it remains to be seen whether he will beat Dianne Feinstein in the upcoming election, it is clear that his policies, whether in the California Senate or the U.S. Senate, will be beneficial to women.
Henrik Marstal and Robert Franken
Danish blogger and author Henrik Marstal and German digital and diversity consultant and activist Robert Franken combined forces in 2016 to create the initiative Male Feminists Europe (MFE). The mission of MFE is quite simple: provide an international platform for male feminists to share their knowledge and, in turn, enable and empower men to join the feminist movement. 2017 has been a year of growth for both the initiative and the founders. In response to some interpreting MFE as patriarchal in and of itself (due to it seeming like a way for men to defend women who can’t defend themselves), Marstal stated the following: “In MFE we really don’t ‘defend women’ – women can do that much better themselves. To be a feminist is to be very critical towards patriarchy – that goes for men as well. However, the reproduction of patriarchal values is very hard to get rid of as a man due to social structures embedded in us from an early age. So all men – and women – can act patriarchal from time to time. We hope that this is isn’t the case with MFE, though.” And Franken followed up by saying that “women don’t need us to do defend them. Our goal is to bridge the theoretical (and actual) gap between men and feminism. We want men to be part of the solution, rather than remaining part of the problem.”
Mark Ruffalo
Ruffalo has always been a vocal supporter of women’s rights. In response to the “I Am Not A Feminist…” movement, Ruffalo shared a brazen and brilliant post from Libby Anne Bruce on his Tumblr page, and in doing so took a solid stance as a feminist. And Ruffalo has not shied away from that stance. He was one of the first famous male actors to publicly condemn Harvey Weinstein, tweeting that Weinstein’s actions were a “disgusting abuse of power” and that he hopes “we are now seeing the beginning of the end of these abuses”.
Ashton Kutcher
Kutcher may be famous for his acting, but lately, he’s been making waves as an activist. He co-founded Thorn, a nonprofit aimed at preventing child sexual abuse and trafficking, in 2009 with then-wife Demi Moore. And in February 2017, he spoke in front of Congress about the issue of human trafficking. In relation to women’s issues, in January, he publicly lauded Natalie Portman for speaking out about the gender wage gap. Portman revealed that Kutcher made three times more than her in their 2011 movie No Strings Attached in a Marie Claire UK interview. After the interview was made public, Kutcher took to Twitter to show his support of his former co-star, tweeting “So proud of Natalie and all women who stand up for closing the gender pay gap!”. But Kutcher hasn’t been without fault in his pursuit of gender equality. In July 2017, Kutcher asked a series of questions on LinkedIn about gender equality in the workplace in preparation for a Facebook live. Many people criticized his questions, calling them sexist in and of themselves. But Kutcher took the criticism in stride:”Thank you everyone for the feedback on the questions I posted on LinkedIn. Good and bad. Already a learning experience,” he tweeted. “…I’ve already offended some folks by asking the wrong questions. I’m certain given the sensitivity of the topic I will say other things wrong. Hope we can find space to be wrong in the pursuit of getting it right.” So while it’s clear that Kutcher still isn’t an expert on women’s issues, the fact that he is trying to learn more and open a dialogue about a pertinent issue, while also remaining open-minded and not defensive, is an awesome step in the right direction.
Justin Baldoni
While collaborating with MAKERS, the “Jane the Virgin” actor stated the following in October 2017: “So many things come to mind when you have a daughter born in this world. Just a deep responsibility to let her have a role model of a dad that empowers her to believe that anything is possible, and that she can do anything anyone else can do regardless of whether or not she’s a woman. So I started to go down the path of redefining in my mind what it means to be a man. That means using my platform to both empower women and to show that as a man, I can love my family.” And he put those words into action by creating Man Enough, a talk show described as “a weekly dinner party that brings together familiar faces from Hollywood to have deep (and sometimes uncomfortable) conversations about what it means to be a man today”. With the intention of taking a provocative look into the insecurities and struggles men face, Baldoni hopes that the eight 25-minute episode series will be “a show where men create a comfortable space for each other to go deep and have a conversation” and a “hub redefining what it means to be a man”. Ahead of the premiere of Man Enough, Baldoni gave a TED Talk on redefining masculinity describing why he’s “done trying to be ‘man enough’.” All of his activism regarding toxic masculinity and the pursuit of a feminist society is proof that Baldoni is on track to be one of Hollywood’s greatest feminist men.
Travis Moore
A former legislative director for ex-Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, Moore recently launched a signature-gathering initiative aimed at policy changes on Capitol Hill in regards to sexual harassment. In response to the wave of sexual harassment allegations aimed at Congressmen on both sides of the aisle, the letter stated that “Congress’ policies for preventing sexual harassment and adjudicating complaints of harassment are inadequate and need reform.” The letter has gained over a thousand signatures and shows that policy reform in this area is deemed necessary by many. Moore said that this issue has been important to him for over a year. “A good friend confided in me that her superior made inappropriate comments to her. It was a lewd comment… The way it was brushed off by her office was really offensive and inappropriate. The incident itself was really hard but the most difficult thing was how the office just brushed it off and then questioned her motives. It speaks to the culture in some offices,” he said.
James Gunn
After the horrific allegations came out regarding Harvey Weinstein, famous film writer and director Gunn wrote a long Facebook post titled “Sexual Predators in Hollywood (and the World)”. In it, he discussed hearing his female friends talk about sexual harassment with a chilling nonchalance, and how sexual predators affect more than just the victims: “…they are EVERYWHERE. And they are killing us. When someone is coerced sexually it not only affects that person, but the lives of those around that person, like rows of dominoes falling in every direction. It demolishes trust and comfort in all of society. And evil men are doing this everywhere, every day, in every occupation, and every type of household, all over the world… I am hoping with recent truths coming to light, that their reign is coming to an end, in Hollywood, and everywhere. I promise to do everything I personally can to stop it, and I applaud and have deep love for every human being who breaks the silence.”
By: Cianna Allen