Actress Emma Watson gave a speech to the United Nations (UN) about the importance of feminism and the problems regarding gender equality on Sept. 20. 

Watson is a UN goodwill ambassador, and the purpose of her speech was to launch the new campaign HeForShe.  This campaign’s purpose is to provoke men to fight for women’s rights and gender equality, as well as to end gender stereotypes as a whole. 

The first topic she addressed was how the word “feminism” often times has a negative connotation. She pointed out that feminism has come to be linked with “man-hating.” She was also not afraid to call out and reprimand men who are overly negative about the feminist movement. 

This is an important matter to bring attention to on a national stage. People who hear the word “feminism” often automatically think that it’s all about women taking over the world, but that is not the case at all. The main purpose of feminism is to promote equality between all genders. 

Continuing her speech, Watson talked about how more women drop out of sports because they are told it makes them “manly” and how the media judges them on stereotypes formed around their gender. She said that girls should be able to play sports without the fear of someone seeing them as unfeminine. 

The topic of gender roles is another important issue that was addressed in her speech. She spoke of how women who are in leadership roles are often times dubbed as being bossy and power-hungry.  

Gender roles are something that all genders struggle with in our modern society. For instance, stay-at-home fathers are often considered weak and unmanly because they are assuming the role often stereotyped to women. Likewise, women who choose to be the breadwinners of the family are often deemed as not being feminine because they are not home full-time raising their children. This common stereotype of the mother raising the children and the father being the breadwinner is one that has existed for years and years. 

These types are stereotypes are harmful to all genders, restricting or bringing judgment to the choices they make.

Watson talking about male gender roles as well as female gender roles is what made her speech different than other speeches about feminism. She talked about how men are expected to not share their feelings because if they do, they will be marked as weak. She pointed out that males should express their feelings just as openly as females and not be judged for doing so. 

Possibly the strongest point that Watson made in her speech was the lack of male involvement in the movement. Right now, it is predominately only females fighting for women’s rights and for there to be true gender equality, all genders need to be fighting for it. She blames the absence of male involvement as the main reason why women today still do not share equal rights. 

Emma Watson’s speech was truly captivating. It provoked thought for both the male and female listeners and thoroughly explained what needs to happen for this movement and the HeForShe campaign to really take off.  She took a side of the fight for women’s rights that has never really been put into perspective on a world stage.