OITNB’s Matt McGorry: Feminism’s definition is ‘clouded,’ which is ‘tragic’

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You may not know Matt McGorry by name (yet), but television viewers know him for How to Get Away with Murder and Orange is the New Black. On the latter show, he plays prison guard John Bennett, who is saddled with a silly pregnancy storyline.

We talk a lot here about feminism and how celebrities feel about the term. The muddled reaction can be baffling and veers from supporters like Emma Watson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to those like Evangeline Lilly and Kaley Cuoco, who place negative meanings upon the word. Then there are the confused and bored starlets, who’d rather change the subject. The main problem, of course, is a lot of people have never read the actual dictionary definition of feminism. Along the way, they heard a negotive connotation, and it stuck.

A very sheepish McGorry only recently discovered the definition of feminism, and he’s climbed on board. He took to social media to spread the word:

I’m embarrassed to admit that I only recently discovered the ACTUAL definition of “feminism”. The fact that the term is sometimes clouded with anything other than pure support and positivity in our society is very tragic. I believe in gender equality. Being a feminist is for both women AND men. I AM A FEMINIST. In for equality? Pass it on – #LeanInTogether #LeanIn #IAmAFeminist #HeForShe

[From Matt McGorry on Instagram]

A photo posted by Matt McGorry (@mattmcgorry) on Mar 5, 2015 at 11:56am PST

Yay for McGorry! He’s speaking out in full support of feminism, and he’s paying lipservice to Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, which he recently read. This is nothing but good news, and I hope more actors come foward to do the same.

Matt McGorry