Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

one_voice

(20,043 posts)
Wed May 27, 2015, 12:28 PM May 2015

Mark Ruffalo: On Mother's Abortion And The Statement 'I Am Not A Feminist'

Actor, director, husband, father and activist, Mark Ruffalo has been outspoken on many social issues, including but not limited to; climate change, clean energy, water preservation, and women's issues.

In 2013, Ruffalo delivered a speech that was read during a Jackson, Mississippi abortion rally. Here is an excerpt:

I am a man. I could say this has nothing to do with me. Except I have two daughters and I have a mother who was forced to illegally have an abortion in her state where abortion was illegal when she was a very young woman. It cost $600 cash. It was a traumatizing thing for her. It was shameful and sleazy and demeaning. When I heard the story I was aghast by the lowliness of a society that would make a woman do that. I could not understand its lack of humanity; today is no different.

Lately there has been a lot of social media discussion as to what feminism means and who "qualifies" as being one. In March, Ruffalo made an unabashed statement about feminism on his Tumblr page.

In March of 2015

“My response to the “I am not a feminist” internet phenomenon….

First of all, it’s clear you don’t know what feminism is. But I’m not going to explain it to you. You can google it. To quote an old friend, “I’m not the feminist babysitter.”

But here is what I think you should know.

You’re insulting every woman who was forcibly restrained in a jail cell with a feeding tube down her throat for your right to vote, less than 100 years ago.

You’re degrading every woman who has accessed a rape crisis center, which wouldn’t exist without the feminist movement.

You’re undermining every woman who fought to make marital rape a crime (it was legal until 1993).


Ruffalo goes on to talk about the sacrifices women have made for their families and this country. It's worth visiting his Tumblr page to read the entire statement. He ends with this:

In short, you know not what you speak of. You reap the rewards of these women’s sacrifices every day of your life. When you grin with your cutsey sign about how you’re not a feminist, you ignorantly spit on the sacred struggle of the past 200 years. You bite the hand that has fed you freedom, safety, and a voice.

In short, kiss my ass, you ignorant little jerks.”


*snip*

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/27/1387990/-Mark-Ruffalo-My-Response-To-I-Am-Not-A-Feminist#



?1432684989
54 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Mark Ruffalo: On Mother's Abortion And The Statement 'I Am Not A Feminist' (Original Post) one_voice May 2015 OP
K&R! marym625 May 2015 #1
I love this guy! Rockyj May 2015 #23
totally agree marym625 May 2015 #24
Yes he is......calm exterior..... probably an animal.... if you catch my drift. nt clarice May 2015 #35
Yes I do marym625 May 2015 #37
You crack ME up....you knucklehead. lol nt clarice May 2015 #38
Happy to do it marym625 May 2015 #41
he's a good man. He's just like my dad. He and Mr. Ruffalo have the same values. My dad was my hero roguevalley May 2015 #46
He is awesome! City Lights May 2015 #2
Someone is maligning him for speaking out against forced illegal abortions? merrily May 2015 #3
I think she was forced to have an *illegal* abortion REP May 2015 #25
Your interpretation makes sense. merrily May 2015 #26
Wow! Excellent points. peabody May 2015 #4
Hulk smash puny idiots!! Coventina May 2015 #5
LOL! City Lights May 2015 #16
FEMINIST HULK SMASH PATRIARCHY! Salviati May 2015 #33
Love that n/t wryter2000 May 2015 #52
I never believed that the kid I saw starring opposite of Brooke Shields in Baitball Blogger May 2015 #6
Or the movie "13 going on 30" with Jennifer Garner..... a kennedy May 2015 #8
Don't think he was in that movie. progressoid May 2015 #10
Omigod! You're so right. Baitball Blogger May 2015 #13
Don't think he was in Endless Love. trumad May 2015 #11
He wasn't, afterall. Baitball Blogger May 2015 #14
I didn't even know who he was juajen May 2015 #45
The personal joke is that I HAD been watching him from the start Baitball Blogger May 2015 #50
K&R nt myrna minx May 2015 #7
Ruffalo is the best and when he gets on a roll with an issue he's golden. Bluenorthwest May 2015 #9
Shhhhh JustAnotherGen May 2015 #12
just kicking because this should be kicked hard! rurallib May 2015 #15
Hulk mad underpants May 2015 #17
Kick, kick, kick!!! Heidi May 2015 #18
k&r Starry Messenger May 2015 #19
Actor, director, husband, father and activist.. and all around good American. mountain grammy May 2015 #20
Men like Mark need an award. Until then... Dont call me Shirley May 2015 #21
K&R Solly Mack May 2015 #22
K&R! Tarheel_Dem May 2015 #27
Kat just oozes good dude TheKentuckian May 2015 #28
I feel like I have given some variation of this rant so many times at this point CrawlingChaos May 2015 #29
I just swoon for that man Skittles May 2015 #30
Superb manifesto! calimary May 2015 #31
Loved his message AuntPatsy May 2015 #32
He needs to stop making movies Yavin4 May 2015 #34
+1 daleanime May 2015 #39
Wow! ellie May 2015 #36
k and r + several gazillion. love him almost as much as KO niyad May 2015 #40
And I wonder who he will vote for. Thanks for posting. nm rhett o rick May 2015 #42
K&R! Omaha Steve May 2015 #43
I love this man! onecaliberal May 2015 #44
I have always thought very highly of this beautiful man! WinkyDink May 2015 #47
Bravo. nt valerief May 2015 #48
Love, love, love him. Pacifist Patriot May 2015 #49
He nailed it wryter2000 May 2015 #51
K and R. !!!!! n/t BlancheSplanchnik May 2015 #53
K&R TDale313 May 2015 #54

roguevalley

(40,656 posts)
46. he's a good man. He's just like my dad. He and Mr. Ruffalo have the same values. My dad was my hero
Thu May 28, 2015, 01:02 AM
May 2015

and he is too.

REP

(21,691 posts)
25. I think she was forced to have an *illegal* abortion
Wed May 27, 2015, 06:38 PM
May 2015

Not illegally forced to have an abortion. My grandmother and mother had been in the same position; no one forced them to have an abortion, but due to the stupid prohibitions, they were forced to resort to unsafe, unregulated illegal practitioners.

merrily

(45,251 posts)
26. Your interpretation makes sense.
Wed May 27, 2015, 06:58 PM
May 2015

I got that abortions were illegal at the time but I thought he meant that her parent or guardian forced her to get an abortion, rather than perhaps have a child out of wedlock. Parents used to go one of two ways on pregnancies of young girls. One was to avoid an abortion at all costs; the other was to avoid a scandal at all costs.

Out of wedlock pregnancy no longer carries as much stigma it once did, though it still has plenty of ramifications.

peabody

(445 posts)
4. Wow! Excellent points.
Wed May 27, 2015, 12:41 PM
May 2015

I love the part "You bite the hand that has fed you freedom, safety, and a voice." It's so true.

Baitball Blogger

(46,684 posts)
6. I never believed that the kid I saw starring opposite of Brooke Shields in
Wed May 27, 2015, 12:54 PM
May 2015

Endless Love would amount to anything. But, dang. If there was anyone who has managed to stand out and is becoming larger than life, it is Mark Ruffalo.

a kennedy

(29,618 posts)
8. Or the movie "13 going on 30" with Jennifer Garner.....
Wed May 27, 2015, 01:03 PM
May 2015

have always agreed with his point of view. Smart guy

Baitball Blogger

(46,684 posts)
13. Omigod! You're so right.
Wed May 27, 2015, 01:29 PM
May 2015

It was Martin Hewitt-whose career appeared to plummet soon afterward.

But what really made me feel old when I looked up the wiki information, it was that the movie was Tom Cruise's debut movie and James Spader's second movie!!!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endless_Love_(1981_film)

Baitball Blogger

(46,684 posts)
14. He wasn't, afterall.
Wed May 27, 2015, 01:33 PM
May 2015

His film career didn't start until '92.

Looking up the Endless Love info I found this on wiki:

"Endless Love is a 1981 romantic drama film directed by Franco Zeffirelli starring Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Tom Cruise in his film debut, and James Spader in his second film role."

My, my. How time flies.

juajen

(8,515 posts)
45. I didn't even know who he was
Thu May 28, 2015, 12:27 AM
May 2015

However, his face and remarks will certainly imprint him in this brain of mine That is some man!

Baitball Blogger

(46,684 posts)
50. The personal joke is that I HAD been watching him from the start
Thu May 28, 2015, 09:59 AM
May 2015

precisely because I thought (erroneously) that he was the kid from Endless Love.

There's a genuine intelligence about him that just comes through with each role he plays. And he's turning into an Ethan Hawke with the kind of movie choices he's making.

CrawlingChaos

(1,893 posts)
29. I feel like I have given some variation of this rant so many times at this point
Wed May 27, 2015, 07:44 PM
May 2015

When a seemingly otherwise intelligent person announces that they don't consider themselves a feminist, it's a jaw-dropping moment. Now I just ask them if we really have to go back to the dark ages so they can figure out why the feminist movement needed to happen.

One small hair-split with his remarks - he says, "I am a man. I could say this has nothing to do with me. Except I have two daughters and I have a mother..." I think we need to remember that feminism helps both men and women, directly. Equal rights and responsibilities for all people regardless of gender is a good thing for everybody.

calimary

(81,125 posts)
31. Superb manifesto!
Wed May 27, 2015, 08:16 PM
May 2015

LOVE this!

Salutes also to writer Libby Anne Bruce, whose statement about feminism he reblogged an unabashed statement by writer Libby Anne Bruce, about feminism.

Mary Ruffalo and Libby Anne Bruce. Two thinkers who inspire us all.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Mark Ruffalo: On Mother's...