Emma Watson, the Harry Potter girl from my childhood book series, has most recently appeared at the U.N. as the new ambassador for U.N. Women. Many of you I’m sure have seen this video posted all over Facebook, twitter, etc, and I myself have seen the video pop up in my newsfeed multiple times, but only tonight did I finally decide to watch the video. And in all honesty, I do not believe that there is a better woman to deliver this speech than Emma Watson. Watson spoke about feminism, a word that has been tainted over the years to gather distaste in people’s mouths. Man-hateing, overbearing, and bossy are all words that Watson used to describe the misdirected feelings associated with feminism. Personally, I think that it is about time that the world addresses gender role issues like unequal pay, parental roles in the household, and more over, the world needs to redefine what it means to be a man.

Emma Watson, is the perfect woman to address this topic. Change will come with our generation, and so who better to call for change than a young woman from our generation. Not only do women love her, but the men of our era adore her as well, and I believe that they will be more inclined to listen to her plea for change than that of Hilary Clinton or Beyonce. As Watson said, Women deserve the same opportunities, authority, and respect as given to men. I agree with Watson’s speech in its entirety. There were a few things that she talked about that resonated deeply with me. The first, was when she explained that the HeForShe campaign was not only to benefit women, but that by redefining gender roles, men would reap the benefits as well. No longer will men need to be kept away from home in order to retain their masculinity, or more over, conceal their feelings. This was one of the biggest points that she made. Men have always been taught to conceal their feelings, and have been taught that it is wrong to show their emotions and to be vulnerable. Why is this the case? Why are women supposed to be more open with their feelings?Redefining gender roles would help both men and women, by placing them on equal footing.

When men do not have to feel in control, women will be able to stop behaving in a totally submissive manor. A fact that struck me, upon watching the video, was that the top killer of men in the U.K was suicide. This completely astounded me. How is it, that in just an advanced world, men feel so trapped that they have no where else to turn, save death. This is both deeply saddening and eye-opening. This “HeForShe” campaign is the first feminist campaign to call men into action, and for that, I commend all of those involved. How many times this year, as Penn State Students have we received notifications of a sexual assault occurrence? More times than I care to remember. Now just imagine what that rate of sexual assault is among the underdeveloped countries in Africa, where women have next to no rights. If at Penn State, in the United States of America, we have had so many incidents, it sickens me to even think of the atrocities that occur in the corners of the world, that go unnoted because of the gender inequality, and the mentality that women are less than men; that the value of women is less.

The last point that Watson drove home was and I quote, “If not me, then who? If not now, when?” I believe that this is something that we should all think about. I do believe that we have both a responsibility and the privilege of making a difference. We have been charged, as both citizens and leaders of this world to improve the world, and what a better place to start, then with the equality of the sexes.