With events like the Women’s March and International Women’s Day making headlines around the world, it has become clear that everyday women are taking a stand to fight for gender equality. However, most women don’t have an immense amount of power and influence— except for celebrities. Many celebs use their high status and constant coverage to bring up issues that matter— feminism, in this case. However, not all celebs self identify as feminists, and among those who self-proclaim to be feminists, some aren’t actually real feminists. All but one of the celebrities mentioned in this article describe themselves as feminists. To help with all of the confusion behind fame and feminism, here is a list comparing who I think are feminists with the “fauxminists”:
Feminists:
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Amanda Stenberg
Proving that she has wisdom beyond her age, the 18-year-old has often spoken up about her status as a feminist and what that title truly means. Stenberg often discusses the problems that women face in American society, and her discussions include all types of women. She has addressed intersectionality, cultural appropriation, gender identity, and racial beauty standards, to name a few examples. She also advocates for women who many “feminists” choose to ignore, such as those who aren’t white, cisgender, straight, thin, and able-bodied. We can all learn a few things about feminism from this young icon.
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Ellen Page
Best known for her lead role in the movie Juno, Page is a well-known advocate for feminism. She received a lot of recognition as a feminist especially after publicly questioning why people are afraid to use the word “feminism.” Page has also discussed sexism in Hollywood, as well as racism, intersectionality, and the oppression of groups that she doesn’t belong to. She also is an LGBTQ+ activist and has openly stated the issues she faces as a gay woman. Page also attended the Women’s March in January, which proves that she’s not just all talk— she can definitely walk the walk as a feminist celebrity.
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Beyoncé
Beyoncé is easiestly one of the most popular celebrities of the 21st century. If anyone has a major influence on American pop culture, it’s her. Thankfully, she uses her fame and fortune to shine light on issues that may go unnoticed. As a relentless promoter of female empowerment, she even used her VMA performance in 2014 to publicly announce her identification as a feminist. Her song “***Flawless” teaches women about self-love, sexism, sexuality, and feminism. More recently, her visual album “Lemonade” also sparked discussions regarding racism, relationships, betrayal, self-knowledge, sexuality, and girl power. Beyoncé’s inclusive feminism is the type of feminism that deserves recognition, and she’s rare in that she can tackle social issues in a way that you can dance along to.
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John Legend
Of course, we can’t forget the male feminists of the celebrity world. Not only has John Legend held concerts to raise money for women worldwide, he has also stated that all men should be feminists. He believes that empowered women will lead to a better society, and cites his mother as the inspiration for his feminist beliefs. Recently, Legend has also spoken out about supporting his wife, Chrissy Teigen’s, mental health struggles after giving birth. Feminism is not the only issue Legend cares for, nonetheless. The music video for his song “Love Me Now” includes images from Standing Rock, Pulse Nightclub, and a refugee camp in Iraq. By using his male privilege and status as a celebrity to encourage others to speak up about issues, Legend is the epitome of how men can help the feminist movement.
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Ashton Kutcher
Our favorite breakout star from That ‘70s Show has been fairly politically active lately, and his work as a male feminist is pretty impressive. He has been working for years to combat child slavery and sex trafficking. Also, he has been trying to increase water access for people around the world. Everything he is doing, he is doing on of that on top of parenting his two children with his wife, Mila Kunis. That has perhaps prompted him to speak about the unequal division of labor within families and fathers’ responsibility in taking more active roles in parenting. If only all male celebrities were as woke as Kutcher.
Fauxminists:
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Jennifer Lawrence
When it comes to feminism, J-Law is a bit of an enigma. She’s spoken against the Hollywood wage gap, fat-shaming, and the sexualization of girls in the media. That sounds pretty feminist, right? However, her feminism fits under a category known as “white feminism,” which basically means that she supports all women, as long as those women look, sound, and act exactly like her. Lawrence has jokingly used gay slurs, misunderstood mental illness, and rubbed her butt on a sacred rock, which perhaps proves her feminism isn’t intersectional. She’s got a lot to learn in the world of feminism.
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Lena Dunham
The lead star of Girls also appears to be a bit wishy-washy about feminism. She incited a major controversy a few years ago when a story in her autobiography allegedly described her molesting her sister. And although that died out fairly quickly, she has also gotten heat for saying that she wishes she’d had an abortion (despite not being pregnant) and for making several racist statements. However, she has been fairly outspoken about feminist issues in recent years. She and the Girls cast released a video informing people about sexual assault, in which she talked about issues such as slut shaming, self-love, equal pay for equal work, and overall empowerment. Dunham has some good ideas about feminism, but she may have stuck her foot in her mouth so many times that she no longer seems like a credible feminist.
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Amy Schumer
Schumer is fairly new to the spotlight, but her rising star status has made her a feminist icon to some and a phony to others. Her show Inside Amy Schumer features dozens of clips that comically address issues that women face. And while it is pretty refreshing to see a woman producing, creating, and starring in a show about a woman, Schumer falls into the category of being a white feminist. She supports women, but apparently that only means white, straight women who might have a curve or two. Schumer’s comedy skits and personal remarks often include racial stereotyping; she has even joked about being offended when no women hit on her in a gay bar. She claims to be a feminist, but her feminism appears to be exclusive.
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Meghan Trainor
Trainor is the only one on this list that has rejected the title of “feminist,” but she has been dubbed a feminist icon in American pop culture. Her breakout song “All About That Bass” may have spoke of self-love and empowerment, but it has also managed to shame thin women to make curvier women feel better about their bodies. What’s worse: the song basically stated that a woman’s worth is determined by how attracted men are to them, which definitely doesn’t sound feminist. Her other hit, “Dear Future Husband,” also had a similar effect in that it suggested Trainor would do wifely duties if her future husband put up with all her crazy. She has said that neither song was meant to be sexist and/or sizeist in any way, but explaining her intents can never truly mitigate the impacts of her work. Until she can promote all women and their choices, Trainor will remain a fauxminist.
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Taylor Swift
In recent years, Taylor Swift has practically become the spokesperson for white feminism. She received a lot of backlash in her earlier days for writing songs that featured slut-shaming and girl-on-girl hate. Thankfully, she realized the error in her ways and began to promote girl power instead. However, her girl power is only really about empowering women like her. Her music videos from the album “1989” feature things like European imperialism (“Wildest Dreams”) and racial stereotypes (“Shake It Off”). And though she talks about the importance of female squads, her own squad only features white, skinny, rich supermodels. Swift has also been criticized for not participating in female empowerment events like the Women’s March, especially since other celebrities did. Talk about a problematic fave.
While this list may appear to show the “good” and “bad” feminist celebrities, this list is subjective and incomplete. The featured feminists aren’t automatically the most woke people to ever live on Earth; likewise, the featured fauxminists aren’t scumbags who think women deserve to be oppressed. Opinions do change over time and being a feminist is a full-time gig, so it makes sense that people—even celebrities—can say or do things contradictory to their beliefs. Education is also a learning process. That said, no one is born with the magic ability to know everything about equality. If your celeb icon or role model is on this list, it might be beneficial to look into the reasons you admire them, and whether they’re someone who you want to look up to. The most important thing to keep in mind is that, while celebrities can be great influences, the best possible feminist you can look up to is yourself. After all, self-love starts on the inside, doesn’t it?