Emma Watson Advocates Against Gender Inequality

By Andrea Estrada

Many of you guys know Emma Watson because of her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie series. Most of us saw her grow up in these movies.. She graduated from Brown University (which you might know to be an Ivy League school) in 2013. Recently she gave a speech to address the women' right to get paid equally as men. Emma Watson is not just a teen idol but someone who I think everybody should somehow admire.

Her speech was awe-inspiring and direct about what the HeForShe campaign stands for. The HeForShe campaign is a movement that fights for all gender rights. They do not only focus on women’s right but also invite men to join.In her speech she explained what feminism is to her.

Emma Watson is a British actor and the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. On September 20,2014, she gave a 13 minute speech supporting the UN’s women HeForShe campaign where she made many impactful points on gender inequality.She invited men to also fight for gender equality in this HeForShe campaign. She explained that gender equality not only concerns women but also men. She is now all grown up and wants to fight for the issues in the world. Not only did she invite men to the campaign but she also explained on how men are affected by gender inequality. Men also are affected by gender equality because of what society thinks of them. Society believes a man should be viewed as “macho man”, a man who is strong and does not express his feelings. She strongly believes that women and men should be paid equally for the same amount of work. She also claimed that there exists no country that could say that has gender equality. She made a great impact with her speech. She influenced young teens about this issue. She used her fame to tell the rest of the world of the HeForShe campaign.

This speech even managed to appear on the Twitter world. Many pictures of this speech have been tweeted and retweeted by my fellow classmates and other young teens. One of the most circulated parts of her speech was when she said “I was appointed six months ago 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.

For the record, feminism by definition is: ‘The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.’

I started questioning gender-based assumptions when at eight I was confused at being called “bossy,” because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our parents—but the boys were not,” (09/20 United Nations). Pictures of her saying this phrase of her speech have been roaming around for a while in the internet. She has now become an advocate for gender equality despite the expected backlash.

After Emma Watson’s united nations speech she was threaten to have her personal pictures leaked according to Business Insider (James Cook 09/22/14). Many have even questioned her if what she says is true. According to Time magazine (Cathy Young 09/26/14) Emma Watsons speech invites men to help fight for gender equality but truly means that men should help fight for women equality. Many have questioned if this movement will fight for everybody’s equality.

She is no longer little Hermione Granger, but rather, a graduate of Brown University with a degree in English Literature and a fighter for gender equality. She has been named the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and was a co-host in the UN meeting of the UN women’s HeForShe campaign. You see she is not just a movie star. She has proven that she can do more and at such a young age. Im pretty sure she accomplish even more. She has officially defined herself as a feminist while many other celebrities have denied being feminist. She has educated her young fans that feminism is okay and does not mean hating men but fighting for gender equality. As a young hollywood actress she made sure to study for a greater education and to fight for what she believes in. Not many in her place have done this before and thats why she is admirable.

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