HCX loved Emma Watson’s UN speech on the He for She campaign that was given earlier this week…
image credit:http://mwfseekingbff.com
We’re sure virtually everyone that clicks on this article will have seen the UN Speech. Emma Watson was made the UN Women’s Goodwill ambassador early in the year and this week she delivered a powerful speech on gender equality as part of the launch of the He for She campaign.
Watson exposes an issue prominent in the UK, in the media, in the workplace, in university campuses: Why is ‘feminism’ a dirty word? Why are women ashamed or embarrassed to call themselves feminists? Why are men even more so?
It seems all too clear today that many people in the UK wrongly believe gender equality has been achieved. There seems to exist an understanding that feminism isn’t important anymore, and therefore feminists today are just moaning for the sake of it.
The feminist movement has come an extremely long way; women have gained rights to enfranchisement, contraception, and (legally speaking) equal pay. BUT there is still one huge issue in the UK that needs to be addressed. The sexualisation and sexual objectification of women.
The sexualisation of women is so heavily embedded into our culture today that it is not even viewed as an important issue, it’s seen as something that just happens, nothing to get too worked up about (because if you do you’re just a ranting feminist). The sexual objectification of women may not be as easily measured as something like equal pay, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter, and that doesn’t mean it’s not there.
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Here at HCX we believe every one of us should be proud to say ‘I’m not a feminist because I want to rant and moan, I am a feminist because I want to walk home after dark without feeling intimidated, because I want to be able to go clubbing without being groped, because I want complete ownership of by body in both private AND public spaces.’
Why is this an issue that is laughed at? The sexual objectification of women in the UK is seen as ‘not that bad’. Groping a girl in a club is seen as harmless fun, shouting at a girl in the street can even be seen as a compliment. Sexual objectification is neither of these things. It’s a way of making girls and young women feel uncomfortable, intimidated and powerless.
Sexualisation of women through cat-calling and groping is downplayed as a part of life, just a bit of fun. But to young girls on the receiving end of this so-called ‘fun’, it’s a message – when you are in a public space, you do not have ownership of your body. Men do.
Hours after Emma Watson’s beautiful and empowering speech she was struck by online trolls, 4chan who at the start of the month released nude photos of various female celebrities. The trolls posted a countdown, threatening to upload naked images of Emma Watson.
It’s unacceptable that a young woman cannot discuss gender equality without being attacked. The internet is THE most disturbing platform for sexists. But it is also one of the most accessible, widely used forums available today.
We can only hope that because of the enormity of the Internet, and the negative publicity 4chan is receiving, that this threat against Emma Watson acts as a wakeup call to the men and women in our country who think that gender equality isn’t important or that it isn’t something that needs to be discussed.
We hope men and women watch Emma Watson’s speech online, we hope they read articles about 4chan and the disgusting way in which it objectifies women and we hope they realise, we need feminism now more than ever. Gender equality has NOT been achieved. The sexual objectification of women is real, it is harmful and it is wrong. We hope that Emma Watson has made people see that being a feminist is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s time we all took a stand for equality.