Lifestyle

5 Best Lines From Obama's Essay About Being The First Openly Feminist POTUS

by Emily Arata
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In fewer than six months, Barack Obama will be out of the White House for good and done with his second term as president.

While I'm sure he'll be catching up on shut-eye and building a presidential library, it's also become clear Obama will take his place at the forefront of a generation that views women differently.

On August 4, Glamour published a thoughtful essay on modern feminism written by none other than the president, declaring, “This is what a feminist looks like.”

A successful politician, a husband and, perhaps most importantly, a father of two daughters, Obama has come to see it isn't bravado that makes a man. It's the way he treats women, lifting them up as his equals.

More than one Elite Daily staffer got a little teary-eyed reading the essay, so I've pulled out a few notable lines to fill you in until there's time to read the whole thing.

Politics aside, Obama's personal take is a groundbreaking piece of writing from head of the the US.

Notably, this past June marked the first time a sitting president openly referred to himself as a feminist.

During the United State of Women Summit, Obama referred to the rights of women as a security issue, and said history isn't just "about the Benjamins [...] It's about the Tubmans, too.”

The takeaway: There is no excuse to be a man who doesn't support the equality of women as leaders, mothers and bosses. That's what Obama teaches his daughters Malia and Sasha to expect, anyway.

Whether you support Obama's politics or loathe them, take a moment to appreciate a very articulate, influential man taking a public stand to support women:

On progress over the course of the last few decades:

On fatherhood changing his point of view:

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On raising two smart, independent women:

On the role men play in feminism:

On the real definition of feminism: