Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Terry Freakin’ Crews



Where do I start? He’s a successful actor, talented painter, writer, an advocate for health, father, husband and a proud feminist. 
Terry Crews cites his wife and daughters as his inspiration in his life, and as a major influence on his feminist ideals. He repeatedly uses his platform to discuss sociopolitical issues as an attempt to bring positive influence to the media. Terry Crews’ representation of positive masculinity is so strong that even some of the character roles he takes share his views. Crews has been quoted saying, “It’s been a privilege playing a feminist, self-aware cop who loves his family,” in reference to his role as Sergeant Terry Jeffords on the successful sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. (source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/terry-crews-brooklyn-nine-nine-metoo-movement/) Sergeant Terry Jeffords and Terry Crews have a lot in common- they both represent masculinity in a positive way, they both see the issues with toxic masculinity in the media, and they both advocate education to help break down and diminish harmful stereotypes. 
Crews lent one of the few male voices in the #MeToo movement, which was invaluable to the cause because it made for a more comfortable environment for other men to talk about the sexual abuse that they have endured. Crews continues to challenge the traditional, and too often tragically toxic, notions of what a man can and should be. He targets male pride as a pillar of toxic masculinity, saying to his fellow men: “When you’re so proud that you won’t change, you’ve got problems. Male pride causes wars, millions of people have died because of male pride, because one man would not back down.” (source:https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/terry-crews-feminism-male-pride-dame-interview_n_6877588.html)
If you weren’t a fan of Terry Crews before, I hope that this post has changed your mind.
Thank you for reading.

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