[Washington Examiner] Sean Penn believes American men are suffering from "cowardly genes" that have stripped away their masculinity.
In a series of recent interviews, the 61-year-old, two-time Academy Award-winner criticized American culture, saying men are being feminized by it, "surrendering their jeans and putting on a skirt."
"I am in the club that believes that men in American culture have become wildly feminized," Penn said while speaking to i News.
"I don’t think that being a brute or having insensitivity or disrespect for women [has] anything to do with masculinity, or ever did," he said. "But I don’t think that [in order] to be fair to women, we should become them."
The Mystic River actor was asked for clarification regarding his comments in a later interview, in which he said American men seem to find it fashionable and empowering to embrace traditionally feminine attributes.
"I think that men have, in my view, become quite feminized," he said. "I have these very strong women in my life who do not take masculinity as a sign of oppression toward them. There are a lot of, I think, cowardly genes that lead to people surrendering their jeans and putting on a skirt."
Penn has a history of criticizing contemporary culture. In July, he called the idea of cancel culture "ludicrous."
"When we're destroying careers like that, what are we really achieving?" Penn asked. "Or you look at politicians — I give a big nod to anyone that’s willing to enter the public arena who is doing so because they give a damn." |