You need to read Emma Watson’s latest beautiful take on feminism
We all know Emma Watson from her Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry days, and now girl is taking the magic offscreen and into real life. We all saw her wave her wand as the UN Women Goodwill ambassador, casting a spell while delivering her now-famous #HeForShe speech that has racked up 1.3 million views on YouTube. And, as we all know, it’s REALLY hard to get that many views on YouTube unless you’re, like, a kitten that thinks a puppy is her mom.
Now Watson is killing it again on the feminist front, as she will be Elle UK’s cover girl for their feminism-themed December issue. (The fact that a fashion magazine has decided to make feminism their guiding theme for an end of the year issue gives me hope for the future of the human race.)
An excerpt from Watson’s interview has been released a month early and Watson has just the most straight-up gorgeous things to say about feminism:
“Feminism is not here to dictate to you. It’s not prescriptive, it’s not dogmatic. All we are here to do is give you a choice. If you want to run for President, you can. If you don’t, that’s wonderful, too.”
Yes, yes, and more yes. In fact, let’s just go all in and give Watson ALL of the yes. Feminism is not about forcing all women into CEO posts and world leadership roles. It’s about making sure all life choices are open and available to all people, regardless of gender. A stay-at-home mom can be just as much of a feminist as a female President if we’re talking about women who made the right choices for themselves and want other women to have the opportunity to make the right choices for their own lives. Feminism has never been about being prescriptive and dogmatic, and the bad rap the movement has gotten for dictating how women should live their lives has, right, not been good.
Watson is helping a wider audience understand what so many feminists have known all along: that feminism isn’t about closing doors, it’s about opening those doors wide and keeping them propped open.
As for becoming a feminist activist, it’s something she’s really embracing—far more than fame.
“Fame is not something I have always felt comfortable with; I have really grappled with it emotionally,” she told Elle. “And, in a funny way, doing this is my way of making sense of the fame, of using it. I have found a way to channel it towards something else, which makes it so much more manageable for me. And this is something I really believe in,” she says.
A standing ovation for Watson, who has once again worked her magic and used her brain and her fame as forces for good in the world.
Image via
