Emma Watson Has No Problem With Being Called A Feminazi
The actress claims that the label doesn’t affect her. [Photo: Rex]
It was big news when Emma Watson announced she was taking a year out of acting to pursue gender studies. But not everyone was supportive. The actress, who’s been in the public eye for well over a decade now and has been using her fame to campaign for gender equality for some time now, has been cruelly labelled a “feminazi” by critics, but she says is doesn’t bother her.
The 25-year-old star has revealed she was unmoved by the jibe and will continue to campaign for the pay gap and other gender issues. “We are not supposed to talk about money, because people will think you’re ‘difficult’ or a ‘diva’,” she told People magazine.
“But there’s a willingness now to be like, ‘Fine. Call me a ‘diva’, call me a ‘feminazi’, call me ‘difficult’, call me a ‘First World feminist’, call me whatever you want, it’s not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing and make sure that the right thing happens.’ Because it doesn’t just affect me.
“Whether you are a woman on a tea plantation in Kenya, or a stockbroker on Wall Street, or a Hollywood actress, no one is being paid equally.”
The actress has taken a one year leave of absence from Hollywood in an effort to pursue her gender equality campaigning. [Photo: Rex]
Watson may be a globally-famous actress and a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, but even her level of fame hasn’t protected her from suffering through sex discrimination - just one of the many issues that she wants to stamp out through the work she does for the HeForShe organisation she founded.
“I’ve had my arse slapped as I’ve left a room,” she said. “I’ve felt scared walking home. I’ve had people following me. I don’t talk about these experiences much, because coming from me they’ll sound like a huge deal and I don’t want this to be about me, but most women I know have experienced it and worse.
“There’s no point in me going, ‘You all have to go away from having read this article and decide that you are a feminist.’ That’s useless,” she said. “The only thing that is going to make a difference is if men go away and speak to the women in their lives about what they are experiencing.”
Want To Join Emma Watson’s Feminist Book Club? Here’s The First Book You’ll Need To Read
