As you may have heard, Emma Watson recently posed for Vanity Fair, and she was—gasp!—not fully clothed, and the internet is in a frenzy.
Let me first address why people are particularly upset about why Emma Watson, specifically, chose to do this. Emma Watson has been a women's rights advocate for a long time. She was introduced to us first as a strong and fearless female icon Hermione in the Harry Potter movies. From there, she began speaking out about gender equality. She was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women and began a campaign called HeforShe which targets boys and men and inspires them to become an active part in solving the gender gap. She has also written a book about feminism that inspires readers to educate themselves about gender equality. She has been vocal about these issues and has used her celebrity status to try to invoke change.
Fast forward to now, after Emma did this controversial photo shoot for Vanity Fair, all of these accomplishments, in some people's eyes, are completely invalidated. She has been called a hypocrite and even a "bad feminist." Apparently, a woman cannot advocate for equality and express herself sexually at the same time.
There a couple of things here that need to be addressed.
One, what exactly is a "bad feminist"? Sure, feminism has a lot of components and not all issues are black and white. But, put simply, feminism is the belief that everyone should be equal. What does believing in equality have to do with our breasts? If I show my breasts, suddenly I can't ACTUALLY believe that men and women should be equal? This is untrue and unfair.
Second, the fact that the only thing being focused on is Emma's body is troubling. Believe it or not, her body is not the entire point of the shoot. This was done for a fashion editorial, which means there was more context than just the clothing. This was an artistic choice and human bodies are a part of the art. Why can't we just appreciate the art and move on, instead of making a huge deal out of something that shouldn't be?
Lastly and most importantly, who made the decision that feminists aren't allowed to express their sexuality? Who says that being sexy means not deserving to be taken seriously? To those of you who say you lost respect for Emma Watson, you have completely missed the point of feminism. The point of feminism is that we, as women, should have the freedom to make our own decisions, especially about our bodies. If a woman wants to pose nude, she should be free to make that choice without judgment! The point of feminism is breaking out of the box that has been built for us. We are being taught to hide our sexuality when in reality, we should embrace it.
A lot of people have a very narrow view of what feminism should be. They have an image in their mind of what a feminist looks like. And anyone who doesn't fit that mold is judged for it. We need to stop this. Feminism means supporting people for who they are. Stay-at-home moms can be feminists. Women who love sex can be feminists. Women who would never personally have an abortion can be feminists. It doesn't matter who you are; if you believe in equality, you are a feminist.
Women are multi-dimensional. We have the power to be sexy, smart, sophisticated, and sassy all at the same time. We need to break free of these ridiculous expectations and show the world that we can be who we want to be, and we're awesome for it.
