Monica Lewinsky praises Jay-Z, Brad Pitt for redefining male vulnerability
Several high-profile men have spoken out about life's challenges over the last few months -- a move that previously may have been seen as unmasculine.
But Monica Lewinsky says their stories are essential in showing the importance of male vulnerability.
In a Vanity Fair article published Wednesday, Lewinsky writes that stories from stars like Brad Pitt and Jay-Z are "refreshing" at a time where people seem focused on maintaining "an outmoded caricature of manhood."
Prince Harry, for example, recently shared his struggle with mental health after his mother's death. Lewinsky says the "scuttlebutt in London after Harry’s revelations was that The Elder royals were reportedly aghast at the emotional transparency."
"It's clear to most in Gen X through Gen Z, that such openness is the way forward," she said.
Brad Pitt is another example of this generational shift. After he discussed overcoming mistakes he's made with GQ earlier this year, Piers Morgan jumped in and said the piece "made him cringe" and that Pitt simply needed to "man up." But the tide is turning, and masculinity, Lewinsky writes, "now [goes] hand-in-hand with expressing raw emotion."
And in the most recent example, Jay-Z addressed issues with Beyonce on his 4:44 album even though, as Lewinsky writes, it wouldn't have been unusual for him to avoid the subject.
"Jay-Z could have ignored it all," Lewinsky writes. "But, instead, he chose a path of candor that will--like Brad's and Prince Harry's--move the conversation forward and help others."
Lewinsky hopes their stories will show other men that they don't have to act as if they don't struggle. In fact, those challenges can often prove how "manly" someone really is.
"As any Leonard Cohen fan knows, it's the cracks that let the light in," she writes.