Women who are hesitant to define themselves as “feminist,” but retain the belief that men and women should have equal rights are feminists. Men and women who believe that equality among genders is a human right should classify himself or herself as a feminist. Emma Watson made a poignant statement regarding this perception during her United Nations speech. Watson stated that, “It’s not the word that is important; it’s the ideas and ambition that is behind it.” Watson went on to urge men and women to face the gender ideals that pressure them into living an inauthentic life due to obligation. Many people fear the word, but wholly agree with the idea of feminism.
Many people avoid the word “feminist.” Fear drives this notion. Hodgeland’s article explains the isolation that coincides with the decision to embrace feminist ideals. “Fear of feminism, then, is not a fear of gender, but rather a fear of politics” (Hodgeland 2). The author also discusses the hesitation that plagues women of privilege to avoid defining a portion of their beliefs as feminist. American culture has the idea that one’s privilege must come at the cost of another’s oppression (Hodgeland 3). Men and women alike fear that if women gain equality then men would have to demote themselves and vice versa. The truth is, feminism is not about one gender, one woman, or a single class of women, but rather, feminism should a priority for all people.
Marketing campaigns contribute to these fears. Corporations fear that
Roxane Gay, author of the article entitled “Bad Feminist”, is a very accomplished American feminist writer. Her publication of “Bad Feminist” in 2012 gained national public attention (1). Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes” (2), but Gay explains throughout her article that being a feminist is not just as simple as agreeing with this need for gender equality. The feminist label is too narrow and because of this the feminist movement is breaking apart. In this piece, Gay addresses how our society currently defines feminism and explains why this definition does not encompass everybody that it should.
When thinking about feminism in today’s society we tend to direct our minds and thoughts to a more radical and powerful train of thought. Feminism has been going on for centuries, with two main ideologies at the forefront; liberal and cultural feminism. Someone who identifies as a liberal feminist is someone who believes that women and men are a like and equal in most respects and deserve equal roles and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). And cultural feminism is someone who identifies as someone who believes that men and women are fundamentally differently; you have different rights, role and opportunities (Wood & Fixmer-Oraiz, 2017, p. 58). The women’s rights movement can be understood and broken down into three “waves”.
I had never really thought about what it meant to be a feminist, it was just a role I had unquestionably assumed as I consider myself to be an advocate of women empowerment. After last week’s readings, I began to question what exactly does being a feminist entails, and why the label carries very different meanings and connotations to different people. There is a common misconception that feminists are radicals, seeking to be superior to men. This is rooted in the fact that women today do not face the same struggles as its predecessors; namely, the inability to vote, work, study, and own property, to name a few. It is true that I have more rights and privileges than women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth,
Feminism, what is it? And how does it affect our society today? Feminist Emma Watson’s moving speech ‘Gender equality is your issue to’ tells us feminism isn't just a thought, it’s a true problem. Feminism is a topic known to many, but rejected by most of society. Watson shows her audience true emotion (Pathos), dedication, and love throughout her speech. She gives a clear aspect of feminism, making her listeners engaged into the topic, wanting to know more (Logos). She invites others into her ideas to ensure that she does not stand alone in this feminist movement (Ethos). Emma Watson is a true feminist trying to make a difference, persuading the audience, pouring her heart out, and believing in the world to join her in her free community.
Feminism is more than a word, more than an individual, and more than an identity. In the words of Tavi Gevinson, editor-in-chief of Rookie Mag, an online feminist magazine for teen girls, feminism is a discussion, a conversation, and a process. It’s not a set of rules and restrictions, and it’s certainly not an attack targeted on men, but it is a fight, and it’s a long one. Over time, various connotations surrounding the word “feminist” have developed to form an image of angry, misandrist, bra-burning women who shouldn’t be taken seriously as thinkers and agents of social change. A dismissal of feminism that I hear often seems to be that feminists are just looking for things to be angry about, seeking out reasons to complain so we feel
Throughout history and having coalesced to the present, feminism has begun to crescendo as a movement for social, political, and economic equality of both sexes. Acting as an ambassador and an embodiment of an agent of change, Emma Watson and her speech can be seen as a catalyst against gender inequality. Her speech is a buttress to the feminism movement as it utilizes factual information to corroborate Watson’s credibility, which then permeates to the sentiment of listeners. Through her delivery and tone burgeoning with passion, an amalgamation of the paradigm between speaker and the audience is seen being masterfully cultivated. The fact that this audience is the United Nation's committee, Emma Watson can be seen as a global ambassador for female rights. Through Watson's virulent stance against gender stereotypes, inequality, and bias, the feminism proclamation is guaranteed to not fall on deaf ears.
On the contrary, feminism is a topic that can be disapproved of. One of the biggest misconceptions may be that feminism is exclusively for females. Feminists are those who are advocates for equal rights for everyone, not only women. For example, if one were to overhear the conversation where a sexist joke was made, the bystander may jump into the conversation to confront the inappropriate behavior. Emma Watson, in 2014, launched the #HeForShe campaign through the United Nations. Watson partnered with the United Nations to raise awareness for the gender inequality issue worldwide. The ultimate objective is to acquire 1 billion male advocates who will take the stand for human rights through online conversation and participating in movements (i.e.
“The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men”(dictionary.com, online), is the dictionary definition of feminism. It doesn’t say anything about men hating, lunatics who only want world domination, and that is what Emma Watson promotes in her speech for the HeForShe campaign. Emma Watson’s speech on gender equality shows great technique, remarkable writing, and incredible motivation.
quarters in New York, September 2014. Emma Watson’s speech was careful delivery by using successfully emotions appeal in terminating all misconceptions of feminism. In her speech She defined the term as, “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.” Watson exhort that, she herself is a Feminist. As
It stems from the fact that their authors represent different stages of the women’s rights movement. While Ernestine L. Rose was one of the pioneer feminist activists, and in her speech she focused on the postulates of the first-wave feminist movement, namely the voting, marital and property rights for women, Shirley Chisholm, who delivered her speech in the 1960s, the period of second-wave feminism in the United States, put the stress on women’s situation in the job market. With the two previously mentioned speeches being mostly concerned with the American conditions, Hillary Clinton and Emma Watson proposed a more international, or even global outlook on the matters of gender inequality. It complies with the assumption formulated in the agenda of the third-wave feminism, informed by the post-colonial and post-structuralist thinking: nowadays, women’s rights movement is no longer confined to the Western world. Struggles of the women living in the Third World countries are recognized and included within the broader feminist framework, as they were included in the speeches of Clinton and
Emma Watson begins her speech with addressing the people that are gathered at the UN and addressing the launch of the campaign HeforShe which leads her to her main point of gender inequality. She starts off by bring up the negative connotations such as man hating with the word “feminist” and address the definition of a feminist which is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Then, she states that there is no country in the world that can confidently say that woman will be able to receive the same paid as their male counterpart, to make decisions about their own body parts, to take a part in policies, and to be shown the same respect as a man. Since there has been a lot of negative connotations about the word feminist, Watson disregard the word itself and focus more about the idea behind it. She brings in facts about how women are being given less opportunity and how male are not not feeling welcome and that it is also important that man participates in the cause. She brings the point about how the time is now, that gender is perceived on a spectrum and not opposing sides. To give the speech a more memorable touch, she uses repetition about how
This speech shows core meaning of feminism, also, what is needed now. This core meaning is what we forget now. Feminism refers to the thought that aims for equal treatment between men and women. She pointed out men is also a victim of gender inequality. This is a different idea from other feminists. Her speech is not accepted for all countries. However, it is true that feminism also gender issue protects male and females’ human right. In my opinion, men and women should stand up and cooperate with together. We all have a responsibility for gender issues. We all have the power to change the world. Watson’s speech tells us what we need now. It’s time to stand up for the aim of gender
Emma Watson, best known as a leading actress in the Harry Potter series, gave a speech called “Gender equality is your issue too” at the United Nations headquarters in New York City during on September 20, 2014. Watson introduced the HeForShe campaign, which aims to support males taking part in ending gender inequality. Throughout the speech, Watson attempted to persuade the audience to join the campaign by appealing to emotions with examples of those who have been subject to the burdens of gender inequality – however, this speech could be considered problematic due to Watson’s lack of credibility and failure to include all groups of people in our society.
Last year in September Emma Watson, an UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, launched an new campaign called HeForShe to stop gender inequality. Emma’s speech became quite popular, as it shed light on the topic in a new understanding. In her speech Emma invited men to participate in the campaign as well. “Men—I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too.” - stated Watson. What makes her speech different from other feminists, is involving both men and women in the issue, and capturing more people to participate. Also, young woman explained feminism in a new unique way. She mentioned couple times, that word “feminism” gone in the wrong root nowadays, and often associated with man-hating, which
Emma Watson, best known as a leading actress in the Harry Potter series, gave a speech titled “Gender equality is your issue too” during a HeForShe campaign at the United Nations headquarters in New York City during on September 20, 2014, in attempt to raise awareness about gender inequality. Throughout the speech, Watson attempted to persuade the audience in joining the HeForShe campaign by providing examples of those who have been subject to the burdens of gender inequality – however, this speech could be considered problematic due to Watson’s lack of credibility and failure to include all types of people in our society.