For female celebrities wondering how to be the ultimate role model — look no further than Emma Watson. Chic, cheeky, and wise beyond her years, Emma has been on our radar [1] ever since her Hermione Granger days, and in her new role as the UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, she's proven herself to be a feminist icon to a younger generation. Emma gave an inspiring speech about gender equality [2] over the weekend that will give you goosebumps. She truly is a heroine both on screen and off. Here are some of our favorite feminist quotes from Emma:
Gender equality not only liberates women but also men from prescribed gender stereotypes. #heforshe [3]
— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) August 18, 2014 [4]
- "I think it is right I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decisions that will affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men."
- "I was appointed six months ago, and the more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop."
- "For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.'"
- "It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals."
- On the celebrity hacking scandal [5], Emma tweeted this:
Even worse than seeing women's privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy.
— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) September 1, 2014 [6]
- "I feel like young girls are told that they have to be a princess and fragile. It's bullsh*t. I identify much more with being a warrior — a fighter. If I was going to be a princess, I'd be a warrior princess. Definitely."
- "It makes me sad to hear girls constantly putting themselves down. We have these unbelievably high expectations of ourselves, when actually we're human beings and our bodies have a function."
- "The saddest thing for a girl to do is to dumb herself down for a guy."
- "If I had it my way, I would have just kept it short forever. Of course, men like long hair. There's no two ways about it. The majority of the boys around me were like, 'Why did you do that? That's such an error.' And I was like, 'Well, honestly, I don't really care what you think!' I've never felt so confident as I did with short hair — I felt really good in my own skin."
- When a Turkish politician stated that women should not laugh in public, Emma tweeted the following photo:
.@UN_Women [7] @phumzileunwomen [8] @e_nyamayaro [9] pic.twitter.com/YkvWKN3iqo [10]
— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) August 1, 2014 [11]
- "I'm a feminist, but I think that romance has been taken away a bit for my generation. I think what people connect with in novels is this idea of an overpowering, encompassing love — and it being more important and special than anything and everything else. I would love to not date someone in the same industry as me. Otherwise it becomes what it means to everyone else."
- "I try and intellectualize a lot, which [Hermione] does as well obviously. She's very determined, I am as well. I like to think that I am very loyal in the same way that she is. Bit of a feminist in the same way that she is. I will speak my mind in the same way that she does."
- "When, at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn't want to appear 'muscly.' When, at 18, my male friends were unable to express their feelings. I decided that I was a feminist."
