PULP RANKED: The Top 5 Revolutionary Daddies of the 20th Century

By Madeline Ward

Reader, if you like your men handsome and revolutionary, look no further. The following raunchy radicals revolutionised the times and societies they lived in, from the Russian Revolution to the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in America. Your MCM could never.

5. Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

Hottest Quote: “Generally speaking, art is an expression of man’s need for an harmonious and complete life, that is to say, his need for those major benefits of which a society of classes has deprived him. That is why a protest against reality, either conscious or unconscious, active or passive, optimistic or pessimistic, always forms part of a really creative piece of work. Every new tendency in art has begun with rebellion.”

Trotsky is really only awarded Daddy status through his relationship with Frida Kahlo, with whom he shared a two year love affair with whilst seeking asylum in Mexico. Trotsky was a key Bolshevik figure in the lead up to and after the Russian Revolution in 1917, holding key positions in the early years of communist government. After opposing the steady rise of Joseph Stalin in the 1920’s, Trotsky was ousted from the party in 1927, eventually setting in Mexico in 1936. He met an unfortunate end via icepick in 1940 ( thanks, Stalin!). Trotsky left behind a major legacy in both his significant contributions to Marxist theory and as being a particularly notable notch on the bedpost of Frida Kahlo.

4. Michael Collins (1890-1922)

Hottest Quote: “Capitalism has come, not only to serve Britain's purpose by keeping the people divided, but, by setting worker against worker, it has profited by exploiting both.”

Michael Collins was a Daddy in the traditional sense: strong, brooding and handsome. Just look at that jawline! He’s also one of Ireland’s most revered revolutionaries, rising through the ranks of the Irish Volunteers and Sinn Fein after being arrested in the Easter Rising of 1916. Collins was the mastermind behind a number of guerilla operations during the Irish War of Independence, and (controversially) negotiated the Anglo-Irish treaty in 1921. The treaty would ultimately result in his demise, as Collins was assassinated by anti-treaty forces in 1922.

3. Frantz Fanon (1925-1961)

Hottest Quote: “In the colonial countries, on the contrary, the policeman and the soldier, by their immediate presence and their frequent and direct action maintain contact with the native and advise him by means of rifle butts and napalm not to budge. It is obvious here that the agents of government speak the language of pure force”

Fanon was an intellectual Daddy, writing a number of works (including The Wretched of The Earth) that have been extremely influential in the realms of anti-colonial activism and academia. Fanon was a member of the Algerian National Liberation Front, supporting the Algerian War of Independence from France, and his works and ideas influenced a number of other significant activists and revolutionaries, including Steve Biko, Malcolm X and Che Guevara, as well as being foundational in the establishment of organisations such as the Black Panthers.

2. Che Guevara (1928-1967)

Hottest Quote: “The true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.”

Che Guevara was more than just a T-Shirt: this Intelligent King was radicalised travelling South America as a young medical student ( his journals from this period were published posthumously as The Motorcycle Diaries ) and was instrumental in the Cuban Revolution. After the revolution, Che held a number of roles in the new government, including championing a successful national literacy program. Woke!

1. Malcolm X (1925-1965)

Hottest Quote: "I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man's problem."

Malcolm X was the hottest political figure of the 20th century on a number of levels, including the obvious fact that he was both incredibly charismatic and good looking, a winning combination that led him to be the spokesperson for the Nation of Islam for a number of years, until he became disillusioned with the organisation and left in 1964. Whilst in NOI he directed a number of programs geared toward providing social justice, including a free drug rehabilitation program. Malcolm X was an early voice of dissent to the Vietnam War, and he was foundational in the Black Power movement of the late 1960’s. Hot and intellectual? Yes, please!