Male Feminists in the Media

When advocating for equality, it is crucial for those who are not being targeted by oppression to use their platform for advocacy. It is important to acknowledge the male celebrities who have supported and spoken out about women's rights and equality. John Legend, Harry Styles, and Ian Sommerhalder are examples of these celebrities who utilize their platforms for feminism and gender equality.

Along with John Legend's awesome music, he also tends to be an amazing spokesperson for when it comes to feminism. He speaks out often on Instagram as well as other social media platforms standing up for women's rights. Lifetime released a new show in January of 2019, called Surviving R. Kelly. It is a documentary series of the allegations against the musician R. Kelly. Legend was the only male artist to appear on this documentary to speak out about sexual and mental abuse against women. He stated, “I knew that as a celebrity, I could lend my voice to something that would highlight these young people who have been hurt and give them a voice.” He uses his platform for the right reasons; to be a role model for young people but to also speak about huge issues going on in the world. Many celebrities would take their privilege for granted but Legend used his platform to take a stand for women’s rights.

Legend also uses his platform to work to combat toxic masculinity. Legend partnered with AXE the deodorant company in 2017. He wanted to do this partnership to advocate for gender equality. He stated, "There are all kinds of ways to 'be a man,'and all kinds of ways to be your best self. I want to encourage people to find that and embrace it." This encourages men to not be the stereotypical man and to be whoever they want instead of what society wants. Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, feel that both of their social media platforms should be spreading positive content to make a change. John Legend is just one of the many celebrities that use their fanbase for positive change such as speaking out against sexual abuse and breaking toxic masculinity.

Ian Sommerhalder, another one of these celebrities, starred in numerous tv shows and movies, but his hit show The Vampire Diaries has continued his fanbase the most. Sommerhalder continues to utilize his platform and is a huge activist for feminism. He is the founder of the feminist organization, Girls Impact the World Film Festival. This allows young women in college and high school to submit films that touch on different issues of today and offer different solutions through a creative lens. Sommerhalder sets a great example for other male celebrities, as he is constantly using his voice and platform to give women a space where their voices can be amplified. In a 2015 interview for SheKnows magazine, Sommerhalder was asked why it is so important for girls to speak up, and this was his response: “It is beyond important that girls speak up, that they act fearlessly, that they fall in love with the timbre of their powerful voices — but that isn’t the complete solution. The men placed into positions of traditional patriarchal power need a massive shift to correspond with women’s uprising and support this societal shift as a whole. Men need to acknowledge the evolution that comes along with embracing and championing the surge of powerful women worldwide.” Sommerhalder sets a great example of what an educated male celebrity ally should look like. Through his consistent understanding of women's struggles and his demonstration of his actions in attempt to make a change, his audience is able to look up to him as a male role model when it comes to advocating for equality.

Finally, Harry Styles, through his music and platform, has worked to expand the spectrum of gender expression, all while being a major voice in advocating for equality for women. With a huge fanbase, Styles has had a huge platform since 2010 when he was first part of the band One Direction. The timeline of Harry Styles and his advocating for equality is extremely dense, but here are some things that stick out from the past 10 years. Starting off with small acts of support, Styles posted a picture in 2014 of him holding a #HeForShe poster in support of the UN women campaign, led by known activist and actress Emma Watson. In 2017 he was praised by fans for wearing a shirt that said “Women Are Smarter.” With small actions of support early on in his career, he was able to set up an environment in his fanbase where fans of all genders felt accepted and loved. In an interview with The Rolling Stones, Styles explains how he wants his concerts to be a safe place for everyone. He has also been known to put stickers on his guitar, many of them in support of Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ+ community. Harry Styles's sectionalism and simplistic approach to feminism when it comes to being an activist is something that should be admired and copied by people aspiring to be a better activist.

“I think ultimately feminism is thinking that men and women should be equal, right? People think that if you say ‘I’m a feminist,’ it means you think men should burn in hell and women should trample on their necks. No, you think men and women should be equal. That doesn't feel like a crazy thing to me.” - Harry Styles, Rolling Stones

John Legend, Ian Sommerhalder, and Harry Styles are a few men who take advantage of their platform to speak out about feminism and gender equality. These men use their platform because they genuinely care about feminism. Social Media can be hard sometimes because it can come across in the wrong way. Influencers should make sure they aren't speaking over female or BIPOC voices. Legend, Sommerhalder, and Styles all wanted to speak about this for change. However some people do it for publicity. Hopefully, more men will want to make a change and start taking action whether it's by protesting or posting.