For the Archetypes season finale, Meghan Markle knew she had to make a splash.
To that end, the Duchess of Sussex decided to invite male guests onto her podcast to show that men should also be directly involved in the discussion about the unfair stereotypes that are often imposed on women.
While introducing the episode, Meghan also shared exactly where she got the idea to include men in a previously all-female series.
"Now, if you’ve been listening to the past 11 episodes, you may have noticed that you haven’t heard many men’s voices… In fact, until now, outside a pop-in from my husband in the first episode, this show has featured exclusively women’s voices," the Duchess said.
"And that’s by design. It was important to us that women have a space to share their authentic and complicated, complex, and dynamic experiences. To be heard. And to be understood.
"But through that process it also occurred to me—and truth be told, at the suggestion of my husband—that if we really want to shift how we think about gender and the limiting labels that we separate people into, then we have to broaden the conversation… and we have to actively include men in that conversation, and certainly in that effort.
"So today, we are doing just that. We’re opening it all up, breaking out of the boxes and the binaries and doing things in a new way… so who’s ready to be open to a little bit of change?
"Today’s the day."
On this episode, titled "Man-ifesting A Cultural Shift," Meghan invited comedian Trevor Noah, TV star Andy Cohen, and film director Judd Apatow to speak to her. Of course, she gave them a warm welcome.
"And in order to help us truly break out of these boxes, for this—our final episode—I’ve enlisted some very thoughtful men in the effort… men who’ve been behind some of the most successful movies and TV shows, but also, who are part of cultural conversation in such an impactful way through their roles in media, and also, for some of them, their roles as husbands and dads," Meghan said.
It's not known at this stage whether the Duchess will return for a second season of Archetypes. Meanwhile, she and her husband Prince Harry are preparing to release their Netflix docuseries on 8 December, followed by Harry's memoir on 10 January.
