A Win for Feminism

Emma Watson makes a compelling statement about feminism and sets the internet ablaze.

Emma Watson, famous celebrity known for playing Hermione Granger in “Harry Potter,” has made public her support for the HeForShe campaign.  Her speech in regards to the movement has forever changed what feminism is and will be viewed as.

Photo Courtes of Creative Commons

Emma Watson, famous celebrity known for playing Hermione Granger in “Harry Potter,” has made public her support for the HeForShe campaign. Her speech in regards to the movement has forever changed what feminism is and will be viewed as.

Addy Bennett, Editor-in-Chief

And somebody finally understands what I feel that feminism should be.

Celebrity Emma Watson, famous for playing Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” series, has claimed that the goal of feminism shouldn’t be “man-hating.”  You could drown in the sheer volume of my happy tears.

Six months ago, Watson was appointed as a U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador, and has, until now, been viewed as a rookie.  Her sometimes unprofessional tweets concerning rights and the like have certainly caused some suspicion about her abilities in representing feminism, but the speech she made regarding the HeForShe campaign far outweighed any social media mistakes she may or may not have made.

Her thoughts on the longer F-word of the two were both relevant and impassioned, and even though her voice shook while delivering her speech, the message was strong.  “Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?  I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men.”

And we thank her for it.  In her speech, she brought up organization Women Against Feminism.  The name alone ignited a certain curiosity in myself, and so I went off to check their Facebook page.

Now, let me warn you that I was extremely angered and at the same time saddened by some of what I saw there.

What is saw where pictures of smiling women with cool haircuts and cute clothes holding a sign which had words written on them about why they weren’t feminists.  And that’s fine.  But what they knew was an entire misconception that so many fall under.

Who’s to blame for the signs that stated, “I’m not a feminist because there is no need for it and I support gender equality and I don’t want women to be superior to men”?

Sadly, that would be the feminists.  I understand what those women are saying, but at the same time, it makes no sense.  Feminism should not be a campaign that is “women are better than men,” as the movement itself is supposed to be about finally reaching total gender equality.

And then I also saw something that really fired me up.  “I don’t need feminism because I am not oppressed in any way, shape or form… That is unless you’d count the feminists trying to tell me what to do, say, and think!”

Translation: “I don’t care about any of the women who are oppressed.  They can stand up for themselves and be raped, beaten, jailed, or shot for it.”  Are you even kidding me?  Don’t you see what’s going on in the world around you?  Won’t you stand up for your brother, your sister, your mother, father, cousins who are judged unfairly and, might I add, killed for simply trying to vote?

Can’t you see that the world can’t improve without you?

The HeForShe campaign’s goal is to take men, the more respected part of our species, and balance out their power by distributing it to the poor souls of the world.  It’s done to inspire people.  Because people need inspiration to do the right thing, if I can really on human nature.

That’s why I feel what HeForShe and Watson’s views are so important to the entire world, no matter your gender, race, or political views.