He For She

Hi,

Everyone is talking about Emma Watsons He for She campaign speech at the UN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-xqeTvD3as

Celebrities are getting involved with people like David Tennant tweeting and campaigning. And I think that's great.

One thing that stood out to me in Emma Watsons speech was the fact she said that feminism is an unpopular word, and it is something I have thought about for a while. I thought humanism would be a better word or simply equality. They both mean the same thing as feminism. The word feminism implies that it is all about being female but it really isn't. Women fought for the right to be equal to men because they were (and in some cases still are) considered less than men for a long time. But feminism has never just been about women, it is about gender equality, and that means the freedom to be whatever you want and not be restricted by your gender.

I am a feminist!

it is a hard thing for anyone, women or men, to say. But it is true for so many people who didn't even know it yet. Caitlin Moran talks about feminism in her book 'How To Be A Woman'.

“We need to reclaim the word 'feminism'. We need the word 'feminism' back real bad. When statistics come in saying that only 29% of American women would describe themselves as feminist - and only 42% of British women - I used to think, What do you think feminism IS, ladies? What part of 'liberation for women' is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? 'Vogue' by Madonna? Jeans? Did all that good shit GET ON YOUR NERVES? Or were you just DRUNK AT THE TIME OF THE SURVEY?”

So as you can see being a feminist literally means that you want women to be able to own their own bodies.

The most important part of the speech was of course the part about men being feminists.
The person who taught me most about feminism and also the person who probably made me a feminist, is my Dad. He is the most passionate feminist I know. My Mum is also a feminist but for some reason he was the one I talked to about this. I learned from both of them from a very young age that girls and boys are pretty much the same apart from some anatomy and I believed it until I went to school.
 Much as I would like to quote 'How To Be A Woman' in it's entirety right now I won't, but I recommend it to anyone who isn't sure if they are a feminist or not. Also anything written by Gloria Steinem.

If you look back over this blog you will see that I have written a lot of posts about feminism and I have mentioned that I am one a lot. I don't know what people think when I say that but I know that everyone's reaction seems to be big. Either you hate it or you love it or you passionately disagree with commenting. Whatever it is everyone has an opinion and  no one wants to go unheard.

I started this blog because I felt like just another voice in a large crowd but as I get older I start to see more and more voices saying what I want to say, and sometimes, you just have to support them. Sometimes just one voice can make the biggest difference. Emma Watson has just proved that.

So I am asking all three of the people who will probably actually ever see this blog to support Emma Watson and her speech, and her campaign. Write a post like this or just tweet #HeForShe because support is what this cause needs and every voice in this crowd is important, every new feminist and everyone who cares plays a part.

It could be just a passing comment or just one random tweet that changes the world, but the more random tweets and passing comments there are, the more likely the world is to get changed.

Bye.