As the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson delivered a powerful speech to the United Nations recently. She spoke of a new movement for gender equality entitled HeForShe. She made it clear that she is a feminist but her views go deeper than just equality for women. 

Emphasizing the true meaning of feminism she explained that it is “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” She brought up a valid point that “fighting for women’s rights” is usually code for “man-hating,” which gives feminists a brash identity and “has to stop.” Having said that, she channeled her inner Hermione Granger, and the Harry Potter star boldly asked for everyone’s help in the fight for change. She explained that the target audiences for HeForShe are men and boys because getting help from both ends of the spectrum are vital.             

To Watson, the campaign is personal. She recounted how she used to be called “bossy” as a child and how her girlfriends gave up sports when they were teenagers so that they would not “appear muscle-y.” 

For her male friends, they found that the older they became, the less able they were to express their feelings because vulnerability was something only women could show. These societal stereotypes corner boys and girls from a young age to act, look and feel a certain way because they will otherwise be judged. This bigger picture is widely recognized, but hardly spoken of. This is why Watson gave “a personal invitation” to men to speak up for the equalities of the sexes and raise awareness however they can.            

This created an outpour of support from men and women all over, including dozens of celebrities like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rashida Jones, Harry Styles, and Kate Bosworth who sent out tweets and pictures with the #HeForShe hashtag. Others are proud of the fact that an issue that needs tailoring is one spoken out about by Watson, someone who is well established, college educated and is an overall polished role model. 

Lending her voice to the cause has stirred enough buzz to get everybody’s attention, but with support comes backlash. Some haters, like Cathy Young, a contributing editor for Reason Magazine, believe there are too many biases toward women and that they will not change because they are deeply rooted from years ago. She explained that if a woman was domestically abused, she would gain lots of support, but if it were vice versa, women would even still be shown some mercy, just because they're of a specific gender. 

Watson was also personally victimized when a marketing company called 4chan threatened to release nude photos of the actress and even created a countdown clock showing when the pictures would go viral. Eventually the clock was taken down and it was clear this was just a ploy to get a rise from Watson’s supporters. 

Overall, whether people love or hate the campaign, it is undeniable gender inequality is a major societal issue and any effort put forth is appreciated in making a difference for the future. We are all human and it is important to remember in the end we all have the right to do, like, and feel what and how we want.