The well-known actress Emma
Watson from the Harry Potter Trilogy has recently caught my eye in a video in
which she spoke in front of the United Nations on the issue of feminism. Many
young people do not understand feminism and in today’s society it is considered
a “bad word” by
It may not seem like it but women
are still being discriminated against by society. Some of the issues brought up
by Emma in the speech is women’s wages being less than men’s, men being unable
to express their feelings due to society’s suppression, and women being called
tom boys because of how they choose to dress and act at young ages.
Apart from the obvious, one issue
that I have thought about frequently is women’s inability to fight in the army.
There is no proof that men are always stronger than women. Women are completely
capable of fighting just as men are. Some women would be honored to have the
opportunity to be at the front defending their country yet they are still not
even given the opportunity due to their gender.
On average women
are paid only 70 cents to every dollar a man makes. Women are being held from
their own money due to their gender. If you asked any woman working for a
living, she would be against this gender discrimination, however they do not
associate themselves with the word “feminist” for the fear that the word holds.
Many women
believe that being a feminist means that you will do nothing to serve a man,
that you will not be a stay-at-home mother, that you will become the family
bread winner, or that you will not cook dinner for your husband. These things
that some women find a lot of pride in by serving their family. However, to be
a feminist only means that you believe women should have equal right; I
personally believe that woman should have the right to choose whether or not
they want to be the stay-at home parent, and decide as a family, without
assuming that she wants to give up her career completely. Women have just as much
of a right to choose what to do with their lives with the same equality men are
given.
What most males
do not realize is that they are not exempt from this gender discrimination. Men
everywhere try daily to show their masculinity to their friends, families, and
women. If a man is going on a date, he is told he must buy the meal or he could
look like less of a man. If a man cries in front of people, he risks looking
“girly” which can cause serious mental problems for them, which causes them to
repress their feelings.
If you are for gender equality, you are a
feminist, and you may not even know it. So often we close our eyes to these
small discriminations and pretend they are not there, it will take something
big to actually start any sort of movement.
If you would like to see Emma
Watsons video please follow the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Dg226G2Z8
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