HeforShe reaches wide audience

This past Sunday marked more than just one less hour of sleep. March 8 was the 107th annual International Women’s Day — a date heralding the forward progression of our clocks as well as that of the feminist movement.

Naturally, the woman that Elle UK has crowned the “fresh new face of feminism” was at the forefront of mainstream IWD celebrations, broadcasting a live Q&A to address issues of gender equality at the Facebook headquarters in London, England. This woman is Emma Watson, and she’s ramming feminism into Western consciousness.

As the U.N. Goodwill Ambassador proved last September when she gave a speech at the U.N. Headquarters on behalf of the HeForShe movement, Watson is more than just a pretty face using philanthropy to bolster her star power. In reality, her intentions are quite the opposite; Watson has applied her celebrity status to garner support for the modern feminist movement. As Watson proved this Sunday with her comprehensive Q&A, just because the gender equality movement has a long way to go doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate what we’ve accomplished.

A piece in Forbes paints an encouraging picture of the female role in the global labor force. As of right now, women make up almost a fifth of the 114th Congress, and 63 percent of Americans feel that “the country would be better governed if more women held elected office.” Moreover, the number of female billionaires on Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s billionaires has increased by 90 percent in the past three years. Women are also starting 1,200 new businesses a day — 65 percent more than last year. Of course, the patriarchy persists; Forbes cites the head of U.N. Women’s remark that it will be another 81 years until women will have as high a chance of becoming CEOs as men and 50 years more before women will have the same chance of leading a country.

Yet, the fight for equality continues, and feminism has garnered some serious media attention in recent months. Criticisms aside, organizations such as HeForShe have proved instrumental in engaging mainstream attention for the feminist cause. The organization aims to incorporate men and boys into the feminist movement, stressing the idea that sexism is harmful to everyone and that all gender identities must be included in the conversation in order to progress. The organization has already amassed an impressive amount of support — online and otherwise — with more than 250,000 men worldwide having signed the online pledge already.

Naturally, the organization’s focus on its online presence, apparent exclusion of alternate gender identities and primary goal of garnering male support has elicited a good deal of skepticism. Thankfully, hosting a Q&A with Emma Watson at Facebook’s headquarters on International Women’s Day allowed the organization to address these issues and highlight its message even further. When addressing the organization’s goals, Watson clarified that HeForShe is not about men saving women. Watson said, “I think that’s a misunderstanding. Women are already in the club because it’s our movement. It’s an equality club, for both genders. It’s about men coming in support of women and women coming in support of men.”

In terms of the organization’s effectiveness, HeForShe has clearly made a huge impact throughout the world. Watson recalled receiving numerous letters from anonymous teenage boys and explicit support from President Barack Obama, actor Matt Damon and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moo.

Watson also made sure to touch on intersectionality and the importance of inclusivity. She acknowledged her own privilege as a white celebrity, concluding that “it’s then [her] responsibility to then make sure that other women do have access, making sure that what [she has] been lucky enough to see in my life extends out to others.” She recognized the “interlocking” nature of oppression and that “intersectionality is a key word here,” and she explicitly stated that the LGBTQ community be included in this movement.

Overall, I see Watson as a perfect liaison between Western culture and the feminist movement — passionate, brilliant, unapologetically assertive and entirely philanthropic. I have no doubt that Watson will continue to better address intersectionality, but the primary concern is making the basic concept of gender equality a mainstream issue. HeForShe has a long way to go, as does feminism overall, but we are getting there — awareness is growing at an exponential rate, and we refuse to be silenced.

Jennifer Frazin is a sophomore majoring in English and theatre. Her column, “Not That Kind of Girl,” runs Wednesdays.