Matt McGorry
In March, Matt McGorry shared the dictionary’s definition of feminism on his Facebook Timeline. He explained that he was “embarrassed to admit that I only recently discovered the ACTUAL definition of ‘feminism’” and added that “the fact that the term is sometimes clouded with anything other that pure support and positivity in our society is very tragic.”
This post wasn’t just important because the actor publicly claimed the term “feminist,” but also because it encouraged those who, like him, are unsure of what “feminism really means” and are swayed by the negative connotations society attributes to feminists, to reevaluate how they feel about the term.
This Facebook post, however, was just the start of McGorry’s feminist journey. For example, McGorry decided to take on the controversy surrounding Instagram’s discriminatory ban on images of female nipples. After the photos of a number of women (like Miley Cyrus and Chrissy Teigen) were removed from Instagram simply because their nipples were exposed, McGorry posted a topless picture of himself featuring images of Cyrus’ and Teigen’s nipples superimposed over his.
“Can’t you tell by how perverse my photo has become without my asexual male nippies?” he captioned the photo.
The actor acknowledged that he is new to the #FreeTheNipple movement, encouraging others to similarly reevaluate their ingrained opinions on issues like these. He concluded by highlighting the fact that the movement is ultimately about “gender equality and equal rights,” proving that men can and should be supportive of movements and issues like these.
In addition to taking on important issues, McGorry does so in a humorous and relatable way. He’s made a satirical video about male feminism, for example, and routinely posts series of tweets like:
“What are life’s most important issues? Feminism and coffee.”
“I like my women like I like my coffee: w/ infinite variations of size, color & $ value, bc none of these determines its right to be loved.”
“I like my coffee like I like my women: capable of burning the shit out of you when you’re careless with them.”
The final tweet in the series, however, completely slays the subject.
“I DON’T like my women like I like my coffee: because women are not inanimate objects that exists solely for my consumption.”
Using humor to reach those who may require a little laugh to finally see the message he’s trying to impart is commendable and effective, and his thoughts on the matter sum up his entire mission well.
“I’m not going to be convincing the people who really don’t believe in gender equality on my Twitter feed,” he said in one interview. “But I think people who maybe missed out on some understanding of it, but who are good people deep down — those are the people who are worth reaching.”
Men looking to embrace the feminist movement in a respectful and effective way, therefore, would do well to look to McGorry and his approach.