he for she
I have to say, from a very young age, I considered myself a feminist. And then I read (sometime in the seventies, long before Emma Watson was born, bless her cotton socks) that you couldn’t be a feminist as a male, because it was some kind of uniquely female thing, whereas I, like Emma, thought it was a simple matter of believing that females were equal to men in every respect, and that it didn’t matter who did the believing – male, female, androgyne or alien.
Emma Watson’s Hermione is an iconic figure. Perhaps I should say J K Rowling’s Hermione, though millions identify Emma as Hermione. Yet, interestingly, Emma described herself in her speech, self-depracatingly, as ‘that Harry Potter girl’, inadvertently reminding us of her role as support to the main protagonist.
I don’t in any way want to disparage the Harry Potter novels, which I’m sure would have been just as successful with Harriet Potter as the heroine – at least I hope so. I personally have observed how much Hermione has inspired young girls, as an intelligent, level-headed problem-solver. So it was with great delight that I, along with many others, have been able to see that Emma was not just playing a part as Hermione; that she genuinely wants to use her prominence to push for the recognition of women globally.
I would go further – and I suspect she would agree, though she didn’t go that far in her speech – and say that the world would be better for having more women in prominent positions – that it would be safer, more collaborative, and more congenial. But maybe I’m being a little idealistic…
In any case, the ‘he for she’ initiative is one that I endorse whole-heartedly, because it allows men to have their say without experiencing any of the weird responses from both sides. It’s simply about equality, and respect.
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