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Hi! My name is Ulrik, and this is my student blog. My posts will be based on tasks and subjects given to the class by my English teacher Ann. I am currently in my third year at Sandvika High School, Norway.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

"If not me, who? If not now, when?"

Late September, Emma Watson held a speech at the UN. She addressed the importance of feminism, and launched a new campaign, called "He For She." The goal of the campaign is to mobilize men and boys, and make them the advocates for equal rights between the sexes. She started the speech by telling how she became a feminist, and said that:  "I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive."

In her speech, she made it clear how feminism is not a fight just for women, but also a fight for men; equal rights will benefit everyone; socially, politically and economical.

Watson's speech was, I think, a punch in the stomach to so many people, both men and women. Because, Watson has right;"feminism" has become an unpopular word. Very few of my friends, even though they say they want equal rights, would call themselves feminists. What Watson did with her speech, was to remind the world that feminism is not about women gaining power over men, it is simply about equal rights, that will benefit everyone. ¨

I have always regarded myself as a feminist, because I find it absurd that men earn more in salary for the same work as women. It's really quite simple. Unfairness is wrong, and the only way to remove this inequality is to fight for it, and never forget how much those before us had to fight, just to to get where we are today.

Emma Watson's campaign is important, because it is about remembering that feminism isn't a bad word, it is a word that should be won back.


http://www.heforshe.org/