Speaking in front of a large classroom of students is no easy task. Everyone feels a similar wave of anxiety and nervousness before they begin talking. Now imagine speaking in front of the most influential leaders across the globe about one of the most widely talked-about issues: gender equality. Leave it to the brilliant voice behind Hermione Granger to examine the subject of feminism with key members of the United Nations. On Saturday September 20th, this brave young woman did just that.
At 24 years old, famous actress and newly appointed Goodwill ambassador Emma Watson spoke directly about the issues at hand surrounding feminism and how it is often seen as “man-hating.” She went on to say how the mere definition of the word “feminism” is the idea that both men and women will have equal rights and opportunities. Instead of two separate views, the path to gender equality should been seen as a spectrum combining both sexes.
Drawing on examples from her childhood experiences with gender inequality, Watson described how many of her female friends dropped out of sports teams for fear of looking too masculine. She also denoted how men are affected by gender inequality as well. Statistically, suicide is the number one killer of men in the U.K. The impact of what it takes to have a certain level of “male success” plays a factor. Men often stray away from being vulnerable because then they don’t look “masculine.” Watson’s speech went on to say how we should stop “defining ourselves by our gender” and encourage boys to be vulnerable and human.Â
Emma Watson had a clear message behind her empowering words—to implement the movement dubbed “HeForShe.” This campaign aspires to get men and boys to advocate against gender inequalities. One of their goals is to have 100,000 men commit to take action against all forms of violence and discrimination faced by women and girls around the world. On their website, heforeshe.org, they promote the idea that “it’s time to unify our efforts to bring together one half of humanity to support the other half.” The whole of society needs to actively partake in fighting for gender equality. As of November 1st, over 188,500 men have joined the website’s pledge.Â
By taking a stand against gender inequality, you can help change how the world perceives the word “feminism.” Emma Watson’s twelve-minute speech is just what the world needed to hear. She is a well-educated, (she earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from Brown University in May of this year), hard working woman who has a game-changing testimony for the gender inequality concern. Her words have already begun to strike the attention of other public figures. Many male celebrities such as Russell Crow, Tom Hiddleston, Douglas Booth, James van der Beek, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have all expressed how her speech “got it right.” It’s great to see famous men react to this speech in a positive way. Hopefully they can inspire men around the world to pay attention to what Emma Watson has to say.Â
For more insight into Emma Watson’s speech visit the growing HeForShe website at www.heforshe.org.Â