Emma Watson hits back at critics of revealing ‘Vanity Fair’ photo
"Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with."
Brown grad, Harry Potter star, and United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson faced criticism from some circles this past week after posing for a Vanity Fair photoshoot, released February 28.
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One of the strongest critiques came from British radio commentator Julia Hartley-Brewer, who tweeted a photo of a newspaper featuring Watson’s photo along with her own scathing commentary:
“Emma Watson: ‘Feminism, feminism… gender wage gap… why oh why am I not taken seriously… feminism… oh, and here are my t***!'” Hartley-Brewer wrote.
Some people seemed to believe Watson posing with so little clothing was a hypocritical choice for a self-proclaimed feminist.
In a March 5 interview with Reuters to promote her new film Beauty and the Beast, which hits theaters March 17, Watson pushed back against the idea of her feminism being negated by posing for the revealing photo.
“It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is about what feminism is,” Watson told Reuters. “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality. I really don’t know what my t*** have to do with it. It’s very confusing.”
In July 2014, two months after Watson graduated from Brown, she was named a U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador. In September 2014, she delivered a speech at the United Nations headquarters launching a new campaign called HeForShe, encouraging boys and men to support gender equality.
“I am reaching out to you because I need your help,” Watson said in the speech. “We want to end gender inequality—and to do that we need everyone to be involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at the U.N.: We want to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality. And we don’t just want to talk about it, but make sure it is tangible.”
