Fe(man)ism When the word “feminism” comes to mind, people think of “the fight for women’s rights” or “man-hating.” This is a very common misunderstanding. Feminism is the belief that men and women should be equal. On September 20, 2014 famous actress Emma Watson spoke at a United Nation’s event in New York to promote the HeforShe campaign which strives to raise awareness and fight against gender discrimination. As an advocate for feminism, Watson gave an influential speech describing how serious of an issue gender inequality is in society today, and how vital it is that everyone around the world, especially men, come together to help end it. Emma Watson successfully convinces men to fight for feminism by connecting with the audience, exposing
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She explains how there has been a significant amount of gender discrimination in the world for years now and how there will continue to be if men do not help. “If we do nothing it will take 75 years … before women can expect to be paid the same as men … 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children … It won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls will be able to receive a secondary education.” Watson states this in attempt to make men feel encouraged to take action since the thought of having inequality in the world for this long amount of time is terrifying. She is even careful enough to mention that men should take up this mantle for their daughters, sister and mothers. She does this because at first men might think that this topic is irrelevant to them since it applies to women, not men. But by referencing family members, Watson is tugging on men’s heart strings to try to gain their support. Furthermore, she states that there is no country where all women can expect to receive the rights of abortion, having political power and being paid equally as men. “No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality.” It is incredibly appalling to think that there is no single place on this planet where men and women are treated equally. Men might feel at fault for this lack of equality, and this …show more content…
She effectively shows how the involvement of men in the feminist movement is vital. She connects to the audience with personal, relatable examples of inequality and by directly addressing them. Watson reveals how men are negatively affected by gender discrimination, highlighting why they need to fight for their equality as well as women’s. Watson even guilt-trips the audience by indicating how not enough effort has been put forth to make any change, and by stressing the idea that if the lack of support from men persists then so will gender inequality. The entire speech portrays a desperate emotion that creates an incentive to make a change and make it now. Emma Watson makes it crystal clear that the female and male genders are not treated equally, and that men need to help fix this problem. Her compelling speech shines light on why it is essential that men help combat gender inequality. Feminism battles injustice for men and women, therefore the fight for feminism is just as much of a man’s fight as it is a
She explains how there has been a significant amount of gender discrimination in the world for years now and how there will continue to be if men do not help. “If we do nothing it will take 75 years … before women can expect to be paid the same as men … 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children … It won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls will be able to receive a secondary education.” Watson states this in attempt to make men feel encouraged to take action since the thought of having inequality in the world for this long amount of time is terrifying. She is even careful enough to mention that men should take up this mantle for their daughters, sister and mothers. She does this because at first men might think that this topic is irrelevant to them since it applies to women, not men. But by referencing family members, Watson is tugging on men’s heart strings to try to gain their support. Furthermore, she states that there is no country where all women can expect to receive the rights of abortion, having political power and being paid equally as men. “No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality.” It is incredibly appalling to think that there is no single place on this planet where men and women are treated equally. Men might feel at fault for this lack of equality, and this …show more content…
She effectively shows how the involvement of men in the feminist movement is vital. She connects to the audience with personal, relatable examples of inequality and by directly addressing them. Watson reveals how men are negatively affected by gender discrimination, highlighting why they need to fight for their equality as well as women’s. Watson even guilt-trips the audience by indicating how not enough effort has been put forth to make any change, and by stressing the idea that if the lack of support from men persists then so will gender inequality. The entire speech portrays a desperate emotion that creates an incentive to make a change and make it now. Emma Watson makes it crystal clear that the female and male genders are not treated equally, and that men need to help fix this problem. Her compelling speech shines light on why it is essential that men help combat gender inequality. Feminism battles injustice for men and women, therefore the fight for feminism is just as much of a man’s fight as it is a