As the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations (UN) Women, Emma Watson gave a very powerful and eye-opening speech about gender equality on September 20th. Watson spoke about feminism, her personal experiences with sexism, and explained that gender equality isn’t an issue specific to women. The speech was written to promote the “HeForShe” campaign, which promotes men speaking up for gender inequalities that women and girls constantly face.
“I was appointed six months ago [as Goodwill Ambassador] and the more I have spoken about feminism the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop,” Watson said.
Many applauded her for the eloquent speech, but others condemned her for speaking out about equality and threatened her. The negative backlash Watson received from her UN speech is the exact reason why this world needs gender equality and why more people – women and men – need to speak out about it.
Soon after Watson’s speech, an anonymous user posted on the website 4chan (a bulletin board where anyone can post comments) that they were going to release nude photos of her. One user posted, “she makes stupid feminist speeches at the UN, and now her nudes will be online, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.” Someone even created a countdown website to when Watson’s photo’s will be released.
These threats were eventually proven to be a hoax, but it still exemplifies the prevalence of misogyny and sexism in our society. Why is it that when women speak out about something that benefits both sexes, some men feel threatened? When John Legend said, “All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights the world will be a better place. We are better off when women are empowered. It leads to a better society,” he wasn’t on the receiving end of threats afterwards. Nor was Daniel Radcliffe when he said, “I definitely think the idea of friend zone is just men going, ‘This woman won’t have sex with me.’”
Why does it seem that men are free to say whatever they want without being threatened, but women are? Women have come a long way in this world, but they still haven’t come far enough. Gender shouldn’t matter. Everyone deserves to be treated equally. Everyone should take part in the HeForShe Campaign and make this world a better place to live.