Aziz Ansari tackled the weighty issue of feminism in a fairly simple way this week. During his recent appearance on “The Late Show,” the comic gave a pretty simple explanation for how to determine if one is a feminist or not.
“Any feminists here?” Ansari asked the crowd. The muted response from the audience led to him breaking down the term. “Now, here’s the thing,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that didn’t clap, but I don’t believe you.”
“If you look up feminist in the dictionary, it just means someone who believes men and women have equal rights, and I feel like everyone here believes men and women have equal rights,” the funnyman explained. “If you do believe that men and women have equal rights, if someone asks if you’re a feminist, you have to say yes.”
“You’re feminist if you go to a Jay Z and Beyoncé concert and you’re not, hmm, I feel like Beyoncé should get 23 percent less than Jay Z,” Ansari jokingly explained. “‘Also, I don’t think Beyoncé should have the right to vote, and why is Beyoncé singing and dancing? Shouldn’t she make Jay a steak?'”
“That’s how words work,” Ansari added. “You can’t be like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m a doctor that primarily does diseases of the skin.’ ‘Oh, so you’re a dermatologist?’ ‘Oh no, that’s way too aggressive of a word. No, no, not at all, not at all.'”
The “Parks & Recreation” star revealed that his girlfriend is a feminist and declared that he is, as well. Ansari explained that many people misunderstand feminism and the stigma of the word has led to misdirected anger toward the mindset.
“That made me think about those kind of issues,” the comedian shared. “I’m a feminist as well.”
