Much like watching a child jump into the ocean for the first time, witnessing men slowly open their eyes to things that women have known forever is really something to behold. Especially when the man in question is Channing Tatum.
The Magic Mike XXL star opened up to Cosmopolitan's Joanna Coles about his thoughts on the recent Stanford rape trial and gender politics more generally.
"I really think it’s a horrible idea to let someone off because of possibly what they’re gonna be capable of doing,” Channing told the longtime editor about the campus sexual assault. "Because if you start doing that, where do you end? Where does that stop? Where does that line actually quit? I don’t think it’s right, I think he should’ve been punished, personally."
The actor also weighed in on how he believes we can prevent crimes like the assault at Stanford and on college campuses across America going forward. "I think we need to use education and we have to be comfortable talking about [sex]," he explained. "Look, I’m uncomfortable talking about it and I’m saying we should be comfortable talking about it. But it is, it’s an awkward thing to talk about, it’s an awkward thing to talk about, especially probably with your kids," he said.
"So how do we do that better?" Tatum went on. "How do we actually come up with a plan to be able to communicate about sex and what do we need from each other, and what are the lines, and how do you even know where the lines are if you’re not strong enough to say, 'Okay, I’m not comfortable with this anymore…' People want from both directions, and the only way to get to what you want is communication."
"I think rape culture is a very real thing," he said to Coles, adding that he can define feminism in just one word, and that word is "equality."
Oh, Channing: You are right. Rape culture is real, and thank you for being unafraid to call out that fact to the masses. Your advocacy is invaluable and could even potentially help move the mark a little. Our only regret is that a whole chorus of female voices never quite seems to be enough to do the same.
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