Nick Offerman: We can stop discussing feminism when guys 'can legitimately complain'


Actor and woodcraft enthusiast Nick Offerman has a book out with profiles of people he admires, and he sat down with Time to discuss what its title, Gumption, means to him. Gumption is a quality that connects a diverse group including Conan O'Brien, Willie Nelson, and Yoko Ono, he explained, and "it involves spunk and courage and stamina and character and integrity." And if openly expressing your admiration for Yoko Ono isn't brave enough, Offerman broached the subject of feminism:
Feminism is an important quality, I think, in society, and something that needs to be talked about until we can legitimately complain — until the guys are, like, "Hey, hang on, you're making more money than us." That's when we can stop talking about feminism. We are slowly evolving. [Offerman]
Ono and Eleanor Roosevelt worked tirelessly to promote the idea that we can get along rather than fight, facing down "boys around a table, like, wanting to throw spears at each other," Offerman said. And with his book he's "hoping to do my little bit toward helping us evolve toward a place where we stop shooting at each other." Watch the short interview below. —Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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