We for We take on equality

by Michelle Psaltakis, staff reporter

What is feminism, exactly? Feminism allows women to have the same rights and benefits in all aspects of the community as men. Many women would not be considered a feminist because they feel that it is unattractive and uncomfortable when used as a day to day word.

Men think that being Feminist is thought to be man hating, but a campaign has started that will make this mindset wrong. The HeforShe campaign is an organization, started by the U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, that wants men and women to realize that gender equality isn’t only women wanting other women to have equal rights, but also men wanting those rights for women as well.

Many people are confused with the idea on the purpose for HeforShe. It isn’t about wanting to make women have more rights than men, but wanting equal rights. People are quick to judge feminists because it is believed to be man hating, in reality it is the complete opposite. Its embracing men and women.

Watson spoke at the United Nations meeting, addressing the men at the meeting, inviting them to take action. She spoke out in the meeting informing others that she is only apart of a small percentage of people who will boldly speak out and say they are feminists, which was surprising to her. She also made a point on how at one feminist meeting only 30 percent of the audience was men.

“How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?” Emma Watson said.

Watson is wishing for the world to have an acceptance for each gender. Each gender can be both masculine and feminine, and shouldn’t be judged for it. She wants acceptance and through the U.N meeting she was hoping to make sure that point was clear and pronounced.

Not all people agree with the idea that Watson has or the idea of feminism, but the fact that she had made this project more known was helpful.

“Women need to stop having so much of an opinion. They [women] should understand that the reason why women never had a lot of power is because they shouldn’t. That’s how it is and thats how it should always be,” sophomore Ronnie Baretela said.

There is some hate towards Watson about her speech. Many feel that she doesn’t allow men to have a chance to fix their own problems. But the point of her speech was for equal right of both genders and to fix all the problems, starting with women.

She never stated in her speech that she was against men, which was the whole purpose of her speech. Her idea was to fix all problems with equality and double standards and then work onto the smaller but still important issues.

“I’ve seen online that she [Watson] has many people saying how her speech was favoring women over men, which is the exact opposite of what her speech intended. She wanted to make a point that there should common ground among men and women, nobody is favoring anyone,” middle schooler Juliette Owens said.

According to Vanity Fair, the main goal Emma Watson wants to spread is getting rid of the idea that there is a fight between the sexes. The fact that she is widely known, inspirational, and adored for her many roles gives her the edge to influence both women and men to stand up.

“I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen to speak up, to be the “he” for “she”. And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now, when?” Watson said.

On the heforshe website, there is a tab called “action kit” where people are able to see how to take action for themselves. There is also a tab called “donate” to eliminate gender inequality worldwide. The proceeds provide shelter and life skill training, in places like Binka, Zimbabwe.

They are trying to spread the action worldwide, to get the full response needed.  So far, the campaign has been able to have 180 thousand men involved and the numbers are still growing rapidly, as seen on their twitter account.