Six months ago, when I first heard that Emma Watson had
decided to become politically active, I was thrilled; not only because she is
female but because she is the heroine of an entire generation: my generation. Politically
active celebrities often receive criticism in the media (for stepping out of
their expected roles) but I’m glad that the majority of reactions that I
have seen and heard to Watson’s activity have been positive.
After learning of Watson’s “ground-breaking” UN speech this
week I was, unwittingly, reminded of Hermione Granger. I recalled an
interview I'd watched where J.K Rowling admitted how much of herself was put
into the character of Hermione and, also, how much of Hermione she saw in Watson.
This was further explored in an interview with Watson herself where she, too,
admitted to similarities between herself and Hermione. Not to reduce the power of
Watson’s recent speech but the notion of it reminded me of Hermione’s campaign
for elfish welfare. The fact that Watson and Hermione are so similar, I think, makes
her words even more relevant to an entire generation. Although we are only just
beginning to see Watson (and, indeed, women)
as a politically active figure an entire generation have suspected that that
aspect of her was just waiting to shine.
When I first came across articles about, and links to,
Watson’s speech at the beginning of the week I knew it was special. Facebook
and Twitter were bombarded with people, particularly women, sharing and linking
things relating to the speech. I didn’t watch the video of the speech as soon as
I heard about it as I was working; plus I knew that I needed to wait for a
specially selected time in order to appreciate Watson’s eloquence and
message. I modestly supported Watson by sharing
a link to the video on Facebook and I was surprised to find that, while most of the
people taking an interest were female, a good portion of the support was coming
from males. This is an active, positive step and perfectly complements the intentions of
the He for She campaign.
Whilst watching the video for the first time I became unexpectedly
emotional. It affected me, partly because I was watching a well-known actress
from my childhood speak about things close to my twenty-one year old self’s
heart, but mostly because of the things she was saying. The fact that the
decision to become a feminist was “uncomplicated” to Watson spoke volumes of
relevance to me as well as her belief that feminism has become a dirty word. However,
as Watson herself professes, “it is not the word that is important, it is the
idea and ambition behind it” which is enough to silence anyone who has
contributed towards the dirtying of the word.
And if that wasn’t enough to convince feminism haters,
Watson’s appeal to men and boys should have been. Watson admits that it is the
prescribed male stereotype of masculinity which leads to the majority of problems
between the sexes. Watson states that “both men and women should feel free to
be sensitive, both men and women should feel free to be strong” and that if men
are released from the strict constraints of masculinity “things will change for
women as a natural consequence”. As a feminist, I cannot imagine anyone not
being moved by Watson’s words - you only have to follow Twitter accounts and
hashtags such as @EverydaySexism and #thatswhathesaid to gather examples of current
gender inequalities - but I’m sure there are those who are still in denial that feminism can help them.
I am so pleased that Watson is using her celebrity and
political statuses as few people seem to: for good. While there are people who
claim that she was trying to “brainwash a generation” and other, similar, ridiculous
sentiments (a demonstration of the frailty of masculinity, if nothing else) the
majority of people see the truth and relevance in her words. Watson is using
her position as a famous actress and, now, political activist for the good of
all rather than for personal gain. This adds to the equality
issues raised by Watson by displaying the use of one's power for universal good
which is very rarely displayed. Instead of exploiting or undermining those who
idolise her, Watson is doing everything in her power to speak to them about
highly important issues which are critically relevant to us all. Any hostility
shown towards the campaign only helps to display the need for feminism and is
bound to fuel any progress towards viewing gender as a “spectrum” and males and
females as equals.
To keep up to date with the latest #heforshe developments follow @HeforShe and @EmWatson on Twitter.
