Emma Watson is a hero, and not just because she was in the Harry Potter films. She’s a hero because she’s become one of the most outspoken Brits in the entertainment world, never afraid to call out bulls*it when she sees it. The UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and all-round legend eloquently defended her decision to pose in a revealing top in Vanity Fair with grace, good humour and an invisible knee right to the balls of Piers Morgan and online trolls. On International Women’s Day, here are some of feminist activist Emma’s wisest words.
On equal rights
Speech made at UN Headquarters, 2014
“I think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights.”
On beauty
Facebook Q&A, 2015
“Beauty is not long hair, skinny legs, tanned skin or perfect teeth. Believe me… Beauty is what we feel in the inside which also shows outside us. Beauty is the marks the life leaves on us, all the kicks and the caresses the memories leave us. Beauty is letting yourself live.”
On becoming politically engaged
Introducing the Emma Watson Scholarship, 2016
“The last two years have been a baptism of fire to say the least, I learned just how little I know and also how much. It was my scary first step as an activist, a word I never imagined I would use to describe myself. [But] for the first time in my life I have found a sisterhood, a brotherhood, however you want to describe it, I have found my tribe.”
On her Vanity Fair shoot
Beauty and the Beast promotional interview, 2017
“It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is about what feminism is. Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality. I really don’t know what my tits have to do with it.”