Emma Watson has put her acting career on hold and taken on a real-life role as a U.N. Goodwill Women Ambassador. Watson’s HeForShe campaign was recently launched, giving encouragement to males that has been long overdue. HeForShe is centered on gender collaboration to oppose the contention between genders that’s stunted feminism for so long. Watson’s ideals shed a positive light on the issues: rather than condemning men for putting down women, Watson is simply inviting men to get on board with feminism. Her illuminating speech revealed something else: she could be the leader feminism needs.
Feminism is a broad movement with many different branching ideologies, and thus lacks a modern leader for the philosophy as a whole. Considering the impact of groups under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Civil Rights Movement, there is some credence to the importance of a leader in social change. This leader made this movement as a whole extremely bold. He gathered crowds’ passion and ideas and, through these, made changes.
The steps Watson is taking are steps towards progress. Strength and respect radiate from her and as an established actress and generational spokesperson, she is the ideal leader for this movement.
In this day and age, fame, sophistication and beauty can give someone an overwhelming amount of power. Watson is already gaining an increasingly large following necessary for any blossoming leader. Enthusiastic support for Watson’s brave and impassioned speech to the U.N. has poured in through every social media site and the petition is gaining signatures quickly. The star’s bold move will lead to even bolder change and progress towards getting men on board with promoting feminism.
A leader can channel passion toward something more important than ideas; with someone piloting the social cause, followers’ passion can be used to fuel change. Having someone in charge makes for more organization and progress. While feminists have always made a difference, having this kind of leader can lead to more than the simple promotion of feminism: Watson has all the power necessary to make visible changes and advances in female rights.
So often young women find it hard to label themselves as feminists. While these young ladies may uphold and esteem the ideologies behind feminism, it’s not easy to call oneself a feminist. This age often attaches unfortunate and nonsense connotations with someone called a “feminist”. Watson’s work will be tough, but as a young, beautiful, bright celebrity she holds the power to shake off those connotations. She holds the ideal amount of power in catching the attention of young people – both male and female – and convincing them of the power in unity.
It’s about time there’s a young leader making a major promotion for feminism and embraced the power of positivity. Watson’s focus on moving forward rather than the wrongdoings of the past will be the key to this campaign.
Reach the columnist at aerumore@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @AubreyElleR
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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