Emma Watson at the HeFoShe conversation for the International Women's Day on March 8th, 2015

  In Video

 In Picture










Style
 

• Shirt-  A.L.C. RTW Fall 2015
• Pants- A.L.C. RTW Fall 2015
• Shoes- Purified Patent Leather Nix 1

via EmmaWatsonLove

In Text.

Right off the bat, Watson was asked what her mission statement was when she gave that first speech at the U.N.
I really wanted to communicate that gender equality historically has predominately been a women’s movement for women. But the impact of gender equality and how it’s affecting men hasn’t been addressed.
Our society in general devalues the “she,” and as a result, there’s this imbalance that’s hindering our progress.
 At this year’s Oscars, Steve Carell wore cufflinks promoting He For She. (He’s just one of many male celebs on board with the campaign!) Here was Watson’s reaction:
 I had no idea that he was going to do that. It’s just so overwhelming and humbling when men want to show their support like that. It does spread awareness and it does make a difference. Even if two people that night asked him [about his cufflinks], and he’s like, “I’m taking a stand for gender equality.” That’s huge.
 I’m aware of a lot more male feminists than I was a few years ago and it’s really heartening. People have come back to what the actual definition means. Which is equality politically, culturally, socially, and economically.  
Although the phrase tends to have a (mistakenly) negative connotation, Watson cleared up that it has nothing to do with hating men. Instead, she explained:
Men think it’s a women’s word and it’s just for women, but really it just means you stand for equality. If you stand for equality, you are a feminist. Sorry to tell you!
 When asked who her role model was, Emma Watson said her own mother. Her strength as a single parent inspired her, in addition to teaching valuable lessons along the way.
She instilled in me, particularly in my teenage years — when I was feeling confused about what my purpose was — that what I was thinking and what I was doing and what I was saying was infinitely more important than my physical appearance, even when the world was telling me the contrary.
Oh, and she also added that her mom was proud when she received her first detention for failing a Latin exam. “She wanted me to be my own person and a bit of rebellion was a good thing.”
After a fan wrote to Emma Watson about how her dad said she couldn’t be an engineer, Watson responded by telling the girl to prove him wrong. She then talked about the gap in women pursuing careers in male-dominated fields.
 It starts really young with girls and boys being told what they have to be and it can be really damaging… In math and science and engineering, girls just aren’t doing as well. 
And the biggest reason for that is these are generally associated to be male subjects. So young girls feel as if they did those subjects they’d be less attractive. That’s why I want to dispel that myth. It doesn’t need to be like that.
Remember when hackers threatened to release naked photos of Watson soon after her first U.N. speech? She said she didn’t want to have to bring it up, but it taught a valuable lesson.
I knew it was a hoax and the pictures didn’t exist. A lot of people close to me knew gender equality was an issue and didnt think it was that urgent… But when they saw that the minute I stepped up and talked about women’s rights, I was immediately threatened, they were really shocked. It was a wake up call that this is a real thing that is happening now. Women are receiving threats in all different forms.

Another important subject? The gender gap in global education. Here’s what Watson had to say:

If someone had told me that my brother could go to school but I couldn’t because I was a girl, I would be so hurt and baffled. The fact that this is still going on is something that really needs to be addressed. How and why are you not recognizing the potential of that girl? Why are you not recognizing what she can bring to the table?
When asked about the film industry, Watson deemed the lack of female representation to be a big problem.
Currently, females comprise 7% of directors, 19.7% of writers, and 2.2% of producers in the film industry. When you have a female writer, there’s a higher representation of women. So that’s a pretty huge problem. Why are women not telling their own stories?  She acknowledged that awareness was raised surrounding this year’s Oscars, but more needs to be do.

A question was raised about LGBT involvement in the He For She campaign and Watson had a great response.
My specific mandate is to advocate for women and girls, but I also understand that these oppressions are interlocking and that intersectionality is a really important word here. We need to be supporting each other 100%. I hope the LGBT community does feel included and that this is their movement, it definitely is.

Of course another common misconception about feminism is that you can’t hold the door open for a feminist. But Watson dispelled that myth and talked about chivalry being an equal venture.
I love having the door opened for me. Isn’t that just polite? Isn’t that just a nice thing to do? I love being taken to dinner, it’s so great. But I think the key is, would you then mind if I opened the door for you?

Watson believes we need to acknowledge the violence, abuse, and oppression that men face as well. She talked about the pressure men deal with to behave masculinely and why it’s unfair.
I’m really genuinely disturbed by this idea that men can’t cry, and they can’t express themselves and can’t talk about how they feel. I think that’s the saddest thing in the world. Being passionate, being emotional — it’s not what makes you a girl. It’s what makes you human.

Whether signing the petition at HeForShe.org (seriously, go do it!) or speaking up when you see discrimination, the littlest actions can make the biggest difference in the fight for gender equality. If you don’t think so, Watson has a perfect response.
Don’t ever hear in your own head, “Who am I to say something?” You are human. You are a person. You can 100% change the world. 

In case you’re wondering whether you should get involved, this makes things pretty clear:There’s a lack of a sense of urgency around this issue. We’re not really understanding what a huge impact this has all over the world. It’s one of the biggest contributors to poverty, to violence, to discrimination. It hinders development and progress all over the world.

1. “I think it starts young, I think it starts really young with girls and boys being told what they can be.”
Emma said societal gender inequality starts young. In order to combat inequality, we need to raise the next generation to be more open, welcoming, and equal to each other.
2. “For women, it’s about feeling comfortable about admitting that there’s a problem.”
Despite our beliefs that women treat all other women fairly, that is not always the case. Some of the hardest criticism Emma has heard came from other women. “We need to understand that we are complicit,” she said.
3. “If you believe in equality, you’re a feminist. Sorry to tell you.”
Many people try to make feminism more complicated than what it is. Believe in equality among the genders? You’re a feminist! It’s as simple as that.
4. “We don’t acknowledge how much pressure we put on men to conform.”
Feminism is not just an issue that women face. Gender equality gives women more opportunities and it also disrupts our limited ideas of masculinity.
5. On her fake nude photo scandal, Emma said, “If anything, it made me so much more determined. I was raging.”
After her inspirational UN speech, a website was created claiming they would release nude photos of Emma if she didn’t back down on her stance toward equality. Although the situation was downright horrifying, Emma also said it “was a wake up shock” for the men around her who were more neutral about feminism.
6. “We need yin and yang. We need that balance. We need female representation. We need female leadership.”
There’s a big problem of female access in the film industry and Emma knows it. That access is just as profound as it is in any other field. Gender equality affects us all and goes all the way up to the wealthiest and glamourous fields we know.
7. “Chivalry should be consensual. Both parties should be comfortable with that.”
She shared a cute anecdote about taking a man out on a date and how it was initially awkward. However, they were soon able to make the situation easier to digest by talking it through. Emma still appreciates chivalry, but doesn’t think it should remain a one-sided action. Why can’t everyone just be kind to each other all of the time?
8. “Oppressions are interlocking and intersectionality is a really important word here.”
Emma heard the initial criticisms about He For She and its limited point of view and she agrees with them. He For She can be a movement for everyone, not just straight men.
9. “It’s not about men saving women.”
He For She is “not a men’s club,” Emma said. “It’s an equality club for both genders.” We can all come together to support each other, regardless of your gender identification.
10. “If you’ve got a beating heart and you care about things, that’s so great.”
Expressing your emotions should not be left to one gender. In fact, it’s part of our nature. “I’m really disturbed by this idea that men can’t cry,” Emma said. “It’s crazy. It’s what makes you human, how you feel, how you express yourself.”
text:Bustle and Mtv

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