Here’s why Emma Watson was afraid to talk about sexism
After listening to her inspirational and empowering UN speech on gender equality and watching her steadily change the world for women in STEM, fashion, and beyond, it’s hard to imagine Emma Watson being afraid of *anything*, let alone starting the ever-important conversation about sexism in today’s society. However, in an interview with Grazia, 26-year-old Emma explained that she actually almost stopped herself from talking about sexism in the past because she didn’t want to be labeled as “difficult” or a “diva.”
“I had a huge fear that someone was going to call me a diva and was so terrified that I would do anything to appease anyone in order to avoid it,” she explained. “At some point, the sting has to come out of words like diva. It was ammunition against me because I was so afraid of being called spoilt or difficult (like Jennifer Lawrence was), or of people saying movie stardom or fame had changed me.”
Though it’s totally understandable why Emma would be afraid of this backlash (which is, BTW, entirely rooted in the sexism she’s been battling), she obviously fought through it to become one of the most influential celebs who speak up frequently aboutn feminism today.
“What makes you a feminist is not saying that you are a feminist, it’s actually in how you choose to live your life, what you do, and the action you take,” she told the magazine. “Feminism is more of a verb than just a description, so trying to change the idea around that is quite important.”
A big part of her goal, she explained, is trying to change the way women see their own value. “There is certainly a big part of conditioning in society that still very much tells women that the most important thing is their appearance and their bodies and how they look,” she said, adding that she thinks “women are learning to be valued for what they are saying.”
As always, you rock, Emma. We totally get why talking about such an important topic would be scary, but we’re so happy you fought through your fears and stood up for women everywhere. <3
