Everyone knows the outspoken feminists like Emma Watson and Beyoncé because they receive a lot of media attention. There’s no argument that these ladies are badass feminists, but often we overlook other feminist celebrities because they aren’t as famous or are ignored in today's media. I’ve narrowed it down to 12 celebrities who are completely underrated as feminists and definitely need some recognition.
1. Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is equally parts hilarious and feminist. On the "Late Show," he said, "You're a feminist if you go to a Jay-Z and Beyoncé concert and you're not like, 'I feel like Beyoncé should get 23 percent less money than Jay-Z.' Also, I don't think Beyoncé should have the right to vote and why is Beyoncé singing and dancing? Shouldn't she make Jay a steak?" I think I’ve made my point.
2. Ashton Kutcher
While asked about his role in “No Strings Attached,” Ashton took the opportunity to talk about the sexualization of women in the movie. He says, “women aren’t empowered around their own sexuality and their own sexual selves…to create a movie with a female lead that’s empowered with her own sexuality is a powerful thing.” Right on Ashton Kutcher. Right on.
3. Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler is a wonderful woman who can play a wacky Leslie Knope but also has the ability to call men out on their privilege and literally gives no sh*ts about it. We love you Amy.
4. Nicki Minaj
Nicki is a powerhouse, both on the stage and off. She wants every woman, regardless of her shape and size, to feel beautiful. She wants to empower women everywhere to never give up on themselves and to remember they’re worth more than they think they deserve. Miley, what’s good?
5. Taylor Swift
While Taylor has recently received some backlash for her supposed “white feminism,” she still remains an outspoken feminist. She uses her platform as a powerful woman in the music industry to challenge everyone to explore feminism and deflect sexist comments about women in the media.
6. Mindy Kaling
First off, praise Mindy. When a young girl asked her where she gets her confidence, Mindy responded with the best answer ever: “I often am reminded of it when people ask me why I’m confident…why wouldn’t I be? It’d because my parents raised me with the entitlement of tall, blonde, white man.” Mindy is killin’ it.
7. Channing Tatum
Not only is he deliciously attractive, he’s also a feminist. Reddit asked Channing where he’d go if there were a zombie apocalypse. His answer? Sandra Bullock’s house. Why? Because he figured that since she’s dealt with asshole men in Hollywood for so long that a zombie apocalypse would be nothing to her. Plus he said she’d have a fully stocked fridge. He totally recognizes the gender divide in Hollywood and is more than willing to address it, even when it comes to zombies. Thanks Channing.
8. Bill Hader
Star of like 1000 movies, Bill Hader totally shut it down when an interviewer referred to Amy Schumer’s character in “Trainwreck” as a tramp. Bill pointed out that slut-shaming is not OK and that if she was George Clooney, no one would even mention it.
9. Viola Davis
Whether she’s in “The Help” or “How to Get Away With Murder,” Viola Davis is challenging what it means to be a woman of color in Hollywood. She was the first woman of color to win the Emmy for Best Actress and she used the opportunity to bring attention to the marginalization of women, and especially women of color in the industry. #goals
10. Malala Yousafazai
As if being shot by the Taliban and surviving wasn’t enough, Malala has become very outspoken about gender equality and feminism. She says feminism is about “Saying that we’re all human beings. Why would you separate us just because our gender is different.”?
11. Connie Britton
Star of Nashville and sick of people only ever asking her about her hair and her appearance, Connie created the greatest hair commercial ever in which she tells the camera her favorite shampoo is “feminism.” I am literally dead. She says feminism should be used every day and works best when shared.
12. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ellen DeGeneres recently asked Joseph if he was a feminist. His answer was “Absolutely!” He attributes this to his mom who during Lakers games made a point to show that there was a divide between the glorified players and the cheerleaders. His mom taught him to recognize that women are distorted in the media and only represented as “just [getting] to be pretty.” He says his mom taught him to ignore these images and to stop and think about how wrong it was to represent women this way. God bless you Mrs. Gordon-Levitt. God bless you.
