Joseph Gordon-Levitt Wins Positive Press for His Perfect Definition of Feminism

The word "feminism" can be a touchy one, especially given the wildly-varying definitions out there, and celebrities often seem particularly wary of stating their allegiance (or lack-thereof) to the concept. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, however, has no such qualms. In a recent interview with the Daily Beast that's now gone viral, the star explained why he considers himself a feminist, and then went on to give the word one of the most clear, simple, and positive definitions we ever remember hearing. Gordon-Levitt was asked: I read that you consider yourself a “male feminist,” and you credit your parents who are educators and really taught you about the history of feminism. But nowadays, you have a lot of young stars coming out against being labeled a feminist. His response (below) has both women and men singing his praises in multiple publications and all over social media: Coming out against the label? Wow. I guess I’m not aware of that. What [feminism] means to me is that you don’t let your gender define who you are—you can be who you want to be, whether you’re a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, whatever. However you want to define yourself, you can do that and should be able to do that, and no category ever really describes a person because every person is unique. That, to me, is what “feminism” means. So yes, I’d absolutely call myself a feminist. And if you look at history, women are an oppressed category of people. There’s a long, long history of women suffering abuse, injustice, and not having the same opportunities as men, and I think that’s been very detrimental to the human race as a whole. I’m a believer that 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. It benefits society as a whole. Disarmingly honest, refreshingly simple, and difficult to refute -- well done, Sir. Here is just a sampling of the love being hurled his way in the Twitterverse, all of which we wholeheartedly second. Every time I think @hitRECordJoe can't get any better, he proves me wrong. See him define "feminism" amazingly: http://t.co/cgO7TAgt5A — ♥Leiram (@MissLenariel) August 15, 2014 #JosephGordon-Levitt? More like Joseph Gordon-LOVE-IT: Actor Comments on his Feminist Views http://t.co/fWnzxzZuCk — Ravishly (@ravishlydotcom) August 15, 2014 I'm not even sure *I* could explain feminism this elegantly. My hat tips to you, @hitRECordJoe. http://t.co/kMqbPOqIR3 — Ashley Lusk (@arlusk) August 15, 2014

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Wins Positive Press for His Perfect Definition of Feminism

Elizabeth S. Mitchell

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Elizabeth S. Mitchell