On Saturday, Emma Watson delivered a game-changing speech about feminism to the United Nations, bringing gender equality to the top of mainstream conversation.
In her 14-minute speech she reclaimed the word ‘feminism’, questioned why some are still uncomfortable using the term and asked why it’s associated with expressions that are “too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive”.
She explained that gender equality is not only a concern for women but for everyone, and extended an invitation to all men to join the movement.
She also noted that the definition of ‘feminism’ is multifaceted, and that it is not the word that we should hate or shy away from, but the idea behind it that we should embrace: “And if you still hate the word — it is not the word that is important but the idea and the ambition behind it.”
Thanks to Watson and many other young women, feminism and gender equality are increasingly returning to the mainstream conversation. We are seeing a new wave of young, female celebrities who are speaking out about feminism, even if they’ve changed their minds about what it means along the way.
So who are some of the young women leading the conversation? And what do they have to say about it?
Taylor Swift
When asked in 2012 if she considers herself a feminist, Taylor Swift replied, “I don’t really think about things as guys versus girls. I never have. I was raised by parents who brought me up to think if you work as hard as guys, you can go far in life.”
Her hesitance to identify herself as a feminist, and her naivety on the definition of what feminism actually means, inspired the parody twitter account @FeministTaylorSwift. However, when Swift spoke to The Guardian last month, she revealed that she now understands what it means to be a feminist, and is indeed a part of the movement.
“As a teenager, I didn’t understand that saying you’re a feminist is just saying that you hope women and men will have equal rights and equal opportunities. What it seemed to me, the way it was phrased in culture, society, was that you hate men. And now, I think a lot of girls have had a feminist awakening because they understand what the word means. For so long it’s been made to seem like something where you’d picket against the opposite sex, whereas it’s not about that at all.
Swift says her friendship with Lena Dunham helped her feminist epiphany: “Becoming friends with Lena – without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for – has made me realise that I’ve been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so.”
Tavi Gevinson
American writer, magazine editor, actress and singer, Tavi Gevinson has long called herself a ‘feminist’. “Feminism to me means fighting. It’s a very nuanced, complex thing, but at the very core of it I’m a feminist because I don’t think being a girl limits me in any way,” she told Vogue in 2013.
Gevinson uses her views to influence her portfolio of projects, including ‘Rookie Magazine’ – an online platform discussing feminism (among other things) for teenage girls.
“I wanted to start a website for teenaged girls that was not kind of this one-dimensional strong character empowerment thing, because one thing that can be very alienating about a misconception of feminism in that girls then think that to be feminists they have to live up to being perfectly consistent in their beliefs, never being insecure, never having doubts, having all the answers . . . and this is not true and actually recognizing all the contradictions I was feeling became easier once I realized that feminism was not a rulebook but a discussion, a conversation, a process.”
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham uses her candid insight into gender issues to shape her hit TV show, Girls. Her show is lead by a cast of strong female characters, and uses humour and truth to bring the conversation about female issues into the mainstream.
Dunham openly wonders how anyone could truly be against feminism. Declaring that she understands the movement is about equal rights for both men and women, she says she simply couldn’t understand anyone not subscribing to that philosophy, ‘unless they’re a monster’, she half jokes.
Dunham is not afraid to speak out about her views, saying her greatest pet peeve is women saying ‘I’m not a feminist’: “Do you believe that women should be paid the same for doing the same jobs? Do you believe that women should be allowed to leave the house? Do you think that women and men both deserve equal rights? Great, then you’re a feminist. People think there is something taboo about speaking up for feminism. I know for a long time that I was embarrassed to call out misogyny because I was then going to be that complaining girl who can’t let it go. But the fact is, we can’t let it go – not until we feel like we have been heard.”
Beyoncé
Previously describing the description of feminist as ‘extreme’, Beyoncé has very much changed her mind. Her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in August saw her singing in front of a massive sign branding the word ‘Feminist’. A word with a complicated history reclaimed by arguably the most powerful celebrity in the world – the Queen Bey!
This simple act of bringing the word feminist into the homes of millions of unassuming viewers threw twitter into meltdown – Beyoncé became the subject of two-thirds of all tweets about feminism, and made the Sunday following her performance the sixth-highest day for volume of conversation about feminism since twitter began tracking this year.
Miley Cyrus
According to Miley Cyrus, she’s ‘one of the biggest feminists in the world’. Through her transformation from the innocent Disney star of Hannah Montana, to the twerking, wrecking ball-riding Miley, she claims that all of her decisions are made to empower women.
However, Miley’s controversial antics have caused quite a stir, with many speaking out against the young singer, claiming her infamous twerking debacle at last year’s VMAs actually set the women’s movement back. Miley disagrees, however, questioning why men can act anyway they want on stage, and why she cannot: I mean, guy rappers grab their crotch all f–ing day and have h-s around them, but no one talks about it. But if I grab my crotch and I have hot model b-tches around me, I’m degrading women? I’m a woman — I should be able to have girls around me! But I’m part of the evolution of that. I hope,”
For now, Cyrus is using her open-minded attitude and celebrity status to speak out about her desire for gender equality for all: “I’m just about equality, period. It’s not like, I’m a woman, women should be in charge! I just want there to be equality for everybody.”
Joseph Gordon Levitt
It’s not every day that you hear a man declaring he’s a feminist, but that’s what actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has done: “What that means to me is that you don’t let your gender define who you are—you can be who you want to be, whether you’re a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, whatever.”
He understands that the history of gender injustice has been detrimental to the human race as a whole, and like other celebrities, has aimed to bring the topic of gender equality into mainstream conversation. He did this by posting a video online, and prompted others to post a video of their views in return. In the video he says, “In the interest of furthering this conversation, I want to ask you guys what you think about this: What does that word—feminism—mean to you?”
It’s refreshing to see an influential male celebrity utilizing his status and bringing attention to issues of gender equality, and the importance of not letting gender define who you are.
Ellen Page
Ellen Page is a young, influential women who has never shied away from discussing women’s issues. And she’s questioned those who hesitate to classify themselves as a part of the feminist movement. “I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists. Maybe some women just don’t care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?”
Furthermore, Page agrees that the term feminism is associated with radicalism, and believes that this is a good thing, “Feminism always gets associated with being a radical movement — good. It should be. A lot of what the radical feminists [in the 1970s] were saying, I don’t disagree with it.”