"American Crime" creator John Ridley joined HuffPost Live on Wednesday explained that he doesn't call himself a feminist, but it's not because he doesn't believe in gender equality. Rather, he thinks that claiming the label for himself would diminish the work of activists who tirelessly fight for their causes every day.
Ridley: "It's not like I'm out on a daily basis advocating. I don't want to adopt some kind of a mantle when the reality is, on a daily basis, I'm not an advocate and I'm not doing the things that people do where they put their lives or themselves or their livelihoods at risk, because there are people who are doing that."
The Oscar winner said true feminist activists "deserve to have a label that says they're doing something," but he doesn't feel his work as a writer for film and television is enough to merit the title.
Ridley: "I'm not anti-label for people who are actually doing the things that move society forward. I'm not that guy, and I don't do enough. So for someone to come along and say, 'Hey, John, you're a really big feminist...' I hope that I write quality characters just because that's what one should do. I just want to be careful when someone is out advocating on a daily basis and they go, 'Oh, so John gets to sit in his apartment in New York and he gets to be called a feminist.'"
Ridley: "There are people out there who are, on a daily basis, fighting the fight for the things they believe in. And those individuals, based on the fact that they are engaged on a regular basis, they deserve to have a label that says that they're doing something. I don't want the headline ['John Ridley Isn't A Feminist'] ... I realize how bad that may sound. But I also don't want to take the spotlight from people who are out there fighting."
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation with John Ridley here.
Ridley: "It's not like I'm out on a daily basis advocating. I don't want to adopt some kind of a mantle when the reality is, on a daily basis, I'm not an advocate and I'm not doing the things that people do where they put their lives or themselves or their livelihoods at risk, because there are people who are doing that."
The Oscar winner said true feminist activists "deserve to have a label that says they're doing something," but he doesn't feel his work as a writer for film and television is enough to merit the title.
Ridley: "I'm not anti-label for people who are actually doing the things that move society forward. I'm not that guy, and I don't do enough. So for someone to come along and say, 'Hey, John, you're a really big feminist...' I hope that I write quality characters just because that's what one should do. I just want to be careful when someone is out advocating on a daily basis and they go, 'Oh, so John gets to sit in his apartment in New York and he gets to be called a feminist.'"
Ridley: "There are people out there who are, on a daily basis, fighting the fight for the things they believe in. And those individuals, based on the fact that they are engaged on a regular basis, they deserve to have a label that says that they're doing something. I don't want the headline ['John Ridley Isn't A Feminist'] ... I realize how bad that may sound. But I also don't want to take the spotlight from people who are out there fighting."
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation with John Ridley here.
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