Channing Tatum is already thinking about how his 3-year-old daughter will perceive the world, hoping she will find the strength to not give in to typical gender roles when she grows up.
“My highest hope for her is just that she has the fearlessness to always be her authentic self, no matter what she thinks men want her to be,” he writes in an open letter to Cosmopolitan published online Tuesday.
The publication asked him to pen something in honor of the “Magic Mike Live” launch in Las Vegas as a part of its “A Message From One of Our Fave Men” series. Tatum ended up reflecting on his relationship with wife Jenna Dewan Tatum and the moment he fell in love with her.
“I knew our connection was really powerful, but I wasn’t sure what our relationship was going to be,” he remembers. “Then one day, Jenna just blurted out that she knew exactly what she wanted in life and she didn’t have to look for it anymore because it was me. She had no idea what I’d say or how I’d react, but that was her truth.”
Tatum ties that back in to advice for his daughter, Everly, who he hopes will end up like her mother and actively seek what she wants.
“That’s what I want for my daughter — to be expectation-less with her love and not allow preconceived standards to affect her, to ask herself what she wants and feel empowered enough to act on it,” he writes.
Tatum refers to the typical gender roles and the different expectations pushed upon men and women in American society. In his interpretation, women are taught to remain quiet and be polite. Women aren’t allowed to openly express their sexuality either, per the actor, something he hopes to change with the “Magic Mike” brand.
“I wanted to create a space where we could really explore these themes in a fun, provocative way,” Tatum adds. “I want women to feel what it’s like to exist in a world where men really listen to them, where they treat them like goddesses, and where they can feel comfortable and proud to express the full force of their sexual energy together.”