FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tim Rusch/Cristina Escobar, media(at)vday.org

ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY/MARCH 8,
SINGER/SONGWRITER RYAN AMADOR PARTNERS WITH ONE BILLION RISING
ON THE RELEASE OF “LIKE A WOMAN” TO CALL MEN INTO THE MOVEMENT

SPANISH-LANGUAGE VERSION SET FOR RELEASE ON MARCH 11
RECORDED BY KIKE JIMÉNEZ OF THE VOICE MEXICO, AND SEAN O’CONNELL

Companion Campaign Invites Men to Share Inspirational Stories
About the Women in their Lives

March 8, 2019 Today, in celebration of International Women’s Day, One Billion Rising, the biggest mass action to end violence against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender based violence), releases the new single and music video for “Like A Woman.” The song, by singer/songwriter Ryan Amador, calls men to recognize and support women’s leadership, and to join the movement to end gender-based violence.

The release of “Like a Woman” is part of V-Day’s 20th anniversary (V20) initiative to create new disruptive art pieces that inspire people to act. Watch “Like A Woman” here: like-a-woman.org.

“When I heard this song I was so moved to hear a man openly with pride and joy publicly declare his desire to be more like a woman. It felt like a game changer.” – Eve Ensler, playwright, activist and founder V-Day and One Billion Rising.

“Two years ago, inspired by my involvement with V-Day and amidst the horror of our political shift, I wrote ‘Like a Woman’ to proclaim, from a man’s voice, my devotion to womankind. The song is a call to men to actively celebrate women and stand up against those who restrict women’s rights and/or perpetuate patriarchal abuse around the world. I am so happy to partner with One Billion Rising to bring this message far and wide.” – Ryan Amador, singer/songwriter of “Like a Woman.”

“‘Like a Woman’ invites men to actively recognize women in the face of the violence and systemic injustices they experience. In the video, men challenge themselves and act in gratitude towards, uplift, and give due praise to the women who take on revolutionary and critical roles in their lives. Ryan, Daniel, Hanan, Sekou, Kike, Sean, Andres, Tony, and all the men featured in the video, embodied that spirit and call to action through every step of the creative process.” – Susan Celia Swan, Executive Director V-Day

Produced by Hanan Rubinstein (Alicia Keys, Rita Ora, Nick Jonas) with a music video directed by Sekou Luke (“The Time is Now…featuring Chantal Georges and Thandie Newton”), “Like A Woman” will now be part of the One Billion Rising activist-led events that take place across the globe. Furthering the song’s reach, Kike Jiménez (finalist on The Voice Mexico) and Sean O’Connell have recorded a version of the song in Spanish, which will be released in Mexico and globally on March 11. The Spanish version is produced by One Billion Rising Mexico global coordinator Andres Naime. It will be performed live following a performance of “The Vagina Monologues” in Mexico City that night.

“We need this type of movement in 2019. Many of us young people believe there’s no such thing as misogyny or gender-based violence anymore, when really it’s as strong as ever. Every day there are new cases of missing women, many sold, murdered, or victims of violence at home. It is so important that we create consciousness and awareness that these are real and actual problems that cannot be ignored. It’s an honor to be a voice for this amazing cause.” – Kike Jiménez, singer of “Mujer Valiente,” the Spanish version of “Like A Woman.”

Via like-a-woman.org, a campaign will launch inviting activists to invite men to share videos using the hashtag #LikeAWoman online. These video and photographic tributes will reflect men’s appreciation for the women in their lives while also considering what it means to live as a man in our world where one in three women are directly affected by sexual violence.  

The music video already features men giving this type of tribute, Albery Abreu, Robert Airhart, Jessie Samano, Josue Arguelles, Jameal Bailey, Micah Bochart, Sid Cullman, John Van Duinen, Taylor Durland, Elijah Goldstein, Luke Harris, James Ingram Jr., John Krause, James Lecesne, Tony Montenieri, Russell Peck, Tony Porter, Carlos Rodriguez, Bhinish Shah, Lee Schere, Babak Tafti, Justin Paul Ware, Ezra Young, and Zaire Young all appear.

“Like A Woman” is the second song released by V-Day and One Billion Rising this year in celebration of the V-Day’s 20th anniversary. Both songs call on men to become more active in the global movement to end violence against women and girls. The first song/video, “Dismantle” by hip hop duo Charity Croff and Jacob Denzel of ArchDuke, is available now at dismantlepatriarchy.org.

Learn more about “Like A Woman,” listen to the song, and watch the music video at: like-a-woman.org.

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About Ryan Amador:
Ryan Amador is a singer/songwriter and theatre-maker. Ryan recorded his most recent album while driving through the country in an effort to capture the sound of America by collaborating with various producers & instrumentalists in each city along the way.

About V-Day and One Billion Rising:
Twenty years ago, Eve Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues gave birth to V-Day, a global activist movement to end violence against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender based violence).

Since 1998, The Vagina Monologues and other works have been performed across the world by local V-Day activists, raising over $100 million dollars for grassroots anti-violence groups, rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, and safe houses in places like Kenya and Afghanistan. V-Day supports and launched the City of Joy, a revolutionary center for women survivors of gender violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has graduated over 1000 women leaders.

In 2013, V-Day gave birth to One Billion Rising – the largest mass action to demand an end to violence against women in history. V-Day and One Billion Rising are a crucial part of the global fight to stop gender-based violence through attacking the silence – public and private – that allows violence against women to continue.

With ingenuity and determination, V-Day activists around the world are tirelessly working to end harassment, rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex slavery.