ELLE cover star Emma Watson stood up at the United Nations to give an empowering speech about gender equality and the roles of men and women in society at the launch of the #HeForShe campaign this weekend.
Watson, 24, an actress and activist, made an impassioned speech to a packed-out audience in NYC - including our own Editor in Chief Lorraine Candy - that was streamed live across the globe via the web.
‘When I was 8, I was confused about being called ‘bossy’ because I wanted to direct the plays that we would put on for our parents,' she said. 'But the boys were not.
'When at 14 I started to be sexualised by certain elements of the media, when at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscle-y,’ when at 18, my males friends were unable to express their feelings, I decided that I was a feminist. And this seems uncomplicated to me. But women are choosing not to identify as feminists.
'Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one?’ she asked the crowd.
It's the very question we asked last year via our award-winning Rebranding Feminism campaign. And why we're so passionate about spreading the #ELLEfeminism word.
Time for a change? We think so.
Tweet us your thoughts on Emma's speech, gender equality and feminism @ELLEUK with #ELLEfeminism.
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Amy Lawrenson is an established health and beauty journalist with over 13 years experience working for titles including ELLE, Women's Health and Byrdie. Today, Amy is based in Amsterdam and works as a freelance journalist creating copy for various brands and
titles.
