Last night’s Golden Globes telecast was the kickoff for awards season and a walking, talking billboard for the women’s movement. Oprah, while giving her rousing Cecile B. DeMille Award acceptance speech, encouraged girls to know what they’re capable of. Natalie Portman reminded us that the best director category was entirely comprised of men. Time’s Up buttons adorned men’s lapels, women were clad in black and acceptance speeches were focused on creating change in regards to sexual harassment and discrimination in the work place.
While this is less surprising during the actual show, it was surprising to some that this was a major discussion on the red carpet; a place usually reserved for asking the question women have been taking to task in recent years: “Who are you wearing?”
Emma Watson, a fervent feminist and advocate for better treatment of women, was one such black-clad celebrity on the carpet discussing harassment she’s experienced.
.@EmmaWatson says she’s experienced “the full spectrum” of sexual harassment (Watch) #GoldenGlobes #WhyWeWearBlack #TimesUp pic.twitter.com/yubjZ1zrAd
— Variety (@Variety) January 8, 2018
“It’s amazing because I have experienced the full spectrum,” she told Variety. “But I think that for me, what is amazing is that my experiences are not unique, the experiences of my friends are not unique, the experiences of my colleagues are not unique. This issue is so systemic, structural. The statistics around, even just in the United Kingdom, women between ages 18 and 24, just huge, huge, huge numbers say that they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.”
And she’s right. Many women, specifically in the misogynistic and sometimes less than inclusive entertainment industry, experience harassment or assault in the work place — and as many reverberated through the rafters last night: Time’s Up!
The openness, whether through jokes, speeches or interviews, to discuss this epidemic is just the beginning of the conversation. And this conversation is sure to last through awards season and beyond.