Paola K.

Rosas
Professor G. Taylor
English 100
October 24, 2014

Emma Watsons opinion is not too strong; in fact it needs to be stronger

Feminism and gender equality has been a very talked about topic for many years, lately
it has gotten more attention due to Emma Watsons speech in favor of the HeForShe
campaign. Unfortunately today it is still something that needs much awareness;
however, the publicity or exposure it is getting may not be the right amount for many in
favor of equality. HeForShe declares in its official page Now its time to unify our
efforts. HeForShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one
half of humanity in support of the other half of humanity, for the benefit of all. The
message is clear, and we can all understand the power behind these words; the time to
take action is now, and it is not only a problem for women, it is a problem for everyone
who believes women are capable of achieving more than what society has let them for
many years. Emma shared her own experiences to her presentation, yet it still had not
covered many issues as well as, or more important than just hers; even if you talking
about events in your life, you are speaking for every woman who cannot do it herself.
The real problem is that many actions and stereotypes against women are taking place
up to this day and it has many things to do with rape, body shaming, slut shaming, race,
culture, and many more; therefore if you are going to talk about a major problem in
society you must make sure to also cover more issues.

As an 18 year old woman I am considered to be too young for many things, however I
have experienced gender inequality many times in my life, and why should a girl expect
this for her whole life, just for being a girl? Often it was because it was too late for me
to go out (but my male cousins who were the same age could), other times my
neighbors talked about me because I brought over boys to my house. But the actual time
I really got scared was one night when I realized I had left something in an internet caf,
and it was already dark but I wanted to go find it, so with all the braveness in my heart I
walked there alone 7 blocks to get there, and fortunately they had it, everything was fine
until I was heading back home and I heard a car start behind me, and noticed it follow
me for a few blocks, at that point I was scared out of my mind and I took off running
towards another girl who was walking in the same street, until I saw the truck just pass
by, and everything was ok up to when I turned a corner to go up to my house and the
truck began following me again, and there was a man staring at me lowering his
window and I just lost it, in the end I got home safe but it was one of the most terrifying
experiences I have lived. After that I started asking myself what I was thinking walking
alone at night by myself wearing shorts in the street; that is the whole problem, if a
woman decides to do the same thing as me she should expect to have the same
experience. That is why I became a feminist, when I realized it was not my fault for
wearing shorts. Now, something needs to be done, so other girls dont blame themselves
when it is someone elses choice to harm them.
Emma states that 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. It is the reason for which women become feminists, and why she
is sharing her thoughts about it, but she also adds that It is not the word that is
important but the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have been

afforded the same rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been.
Nonetheless the word IS important, being afraid of it or not acknowledging it, is
disregarding the effort of many women have worked to make it more than a word, but a
movement.
Also when she said But what stood out for me the most was that less than 30 percent of
her audience was male. How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is
invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation? Men I would like to take
this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender Equality is your issue.
Implies that men have not been invited to fight for gender equality and that is the
reason they did not participate in the past, when in fact women have been trying to get
men to listen, and it ignores the action men have had to listen to womens concerns and
change their behavior. Men have been hurt also by stereotypes imposed in women but
their issues are definitely not more important than womens, because in the end they
benefit from it more, than get hurt by it, which is why many don not stand by feminism.
Emma talked about some difficulties men have, but if we make them look as important
as girls it will diminish womens experiences.
Julia Zulvers comment (Zulver, 2014) Why should the
mouthpiece of an international campaign be such a foreign,
distant figure to so many girls and women? has a very valid
point. In the world today many people think that a good role
model for young girls is someone who does everything right, has

Emma Watson
Christian Dior Fashion
Show during Paris
Fashion Week July
2014

no nude pictures circulating around, and does not twerk; the

reality is that no one is perfect but Emma Watson has been seen
as an example of perfection. Many problems that feminism tries

to eliminate are that not only white, skinny, educated, heterosexual rich girls are good
examples. The majority of girls cannot relate to Emma because she is in the group of
women who have not experienced gender inequality at a such a level to know what
other women experience because she is privileged even if it there is nothing she can do
about it, nonetheless she could still talk about what many others live day to day because
it is not a myth and many girls have lived the same things. It is not wrong that she
represents the campaign, after all she is trying to make a change, but the real problem is
why she was chosen to do it.
When I speak about gender inequality issues with my friends everything is so clear to us
that there is no valid reason why women should not be treated equally. This is an issue
that I did not realize existed until I was 16, but had lived with my whole life; thankfully
many popular people today are beginning to be aware of the problems that this causes,
but now awareness is still not enough. We are at a point were talking about it is not
enough because it has been too long waiting for things to begin to change. The question
is not anymore How are we going to change things?, but What are we doing, and
what can we keep doing to boost the change. Not much can be done with older
generations who have believed the same thing for many years, as misogynistic beliefs
come down from other generations but it is never harmful to keep trying. If there would
be something I could do now it would be to teach kids these things since they are small,
many people would not agree with this, as it is seen as a topic too strong for them, but in
reality it is too strong for those who do not believe in it.
Emma Watsons speech pushes us a bit to where we need to be, but it does not take us
as far for people to start taking their first steps into changing things. By making an
impact on the world what needs to be done is to be bold about what you are saying and
doing not just putting it out there. A huge solution needs to be imposed to solve huge

problem, beginning with laws that cover even a small thing like catcalling; gender
inequality begins with words and ends with actions such as sexual assault, harassment,
and victim blaming. In order to get close to ending gender roles and everything that
comes with them, men need to hold back and instead of trying to protect us, and they
need to believe we can do it ourselves. In the future what will prove that things have
changed for women is, if 19 years from now a popular character of the moment is not
presenting a speech to the world about how we still need to begin making changes like
Hilary Clinton did 19 years before Emma Watson.