Joseph Gordon-Levitt re-affirmed his position as a proud feminist in a recent interview while promoting his new film Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Defines Feminism

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Gordon-Levitt expounded on his definition of ‘feminism’ when the interviewer brought up the recent celebrity trend of rejecting the idea of feminism (Shailene Woodley, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga).

“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,” Gordon-Levitt said.

Gordon-Levitt added that he embraces the feminist label in part because he is fully aware of the history of oppression women have faced and how it has negatively affected our society.

“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,” he said.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Talks Feminism On Ellen

Gordon-Levitt has never shied away from labeling himself a feminist. While promoting his directorial debut, Don Jon, Gordon-Levitt told Ellen DeGeneres that his mother made sure he was aware of how the media portrayed women from a very young age, so that he could identify gender stereotypes.

“That was something that my mom would always point out to my brother and me, that our culture does often portray women especially… like objects. For example, we would always watch Lakers games as a family, but my mom would always point out every time the cheerleaders come on, ‘Okay, so look, here’s the story that gets told: The men get to be the heroic skilled athletes and the women just get to be pretty.’ She didn’t mean any offense to any individual woman who was working as a cheerleader, but she wanted me and my brother to be aware of it because we see these images on TV, in the movies, and on magazines all the time. And if you don’t stop and think about it, it just sort of seeps into your brain and that becomes the way you perceive reality,” he told Ellen.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.