Turns out that Magic Mike XXL’s simple and good-hearted pandering to lady-viewers has an ideological basis in feminism. Sort of. As Joe Manganiello and Channing Tatum made the rounds Down Under (no pun intended) for their male stripper flick, an enterprising Daily Life reporter brought up the franchise’s ultra-feminist fanbase — in particular, superfan writer Roxane Gay. Tatum and Maganiello talked about how their movie was pro-feminism and pro-masculinity, but Tatum made sure to declare he wasn’t appropriating the movement without learning enough about it. With such cheery thoughtfulness, everyone wins!
Tatum: We’re gonna do a Magic Mike Vegas show, and it’s… (sighs). ‘Feminist’ is like a hard word for me to throw around. I would love to say I’m a feminist but I don’t study feminism, so I can’t just go, like, “Yes, I’m a feminist!”. But I’m very pro-feminism. I wanna talk to her about the Magic Mike show.Manganiello: I’m glad she digs it! Because, you know, I can see how it is pro-feminist. But it’s also a movie where the men retain their masculinity, which I think is, you know, a balancing act. I’m glad that she enjoys it. We’re still guys. Tatum: Yeah, it’s exactly that. Let’s put each other on an equal playing field, and have a conversation.
Looking very much forward to that conversation. Feminist male celebrities are so hot right now.