We have long known that Ryan Gosling is good for women - he the genetically gifted actor who breaks up street fights and once saved a woman from being hit by a car (fact).
But now it has been proved that he has had a positive impact for feminism too. Tumblr account Feminist Ryan Gosling (the Hey Girl memes) was launched in 2011 by a graduate student and became popular very quickly, even spawning books, and it turns out the images have influenced men into adopting feminist beliefs.
A study by PhD students Sarah Sangster and Linzi Williamson showed pictures of Gosling to 99 participants, of which 69 were female and 30 male. Half the pictures featured Hey Girl feminist slogans and the other did not. Participants were then asked to fill in a questionnaire about their feminist views.
The study found that, although men weren't more likely to identify themselves as feminist they were more likely to agree with feminist statements. The academics concluded that the "results support hypothesis that exposure to memes increases endorsement of specific feminist beliefs".
"We saw this pop culture phenomenon that many people dismissed," said Sangster. "But maybe they also have an important effect."
Just in case you needed reminding, here's that footage of Gosling breaking up a random street fight in New York once again (he enters 30 seconds in):
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