+

Feminism – Emma Watson’s HeForShe Speech

By: Gabby Salazar, Emily Summerlin, Cathleen Conrad, Reagan Edwards, and Grace Kim

+

Feminism?

+

Feminism:The theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media The idea of feminism is completely based and

controlled around the idea of leadership

According to the sixth edition of Leadership by Peter G. Northouse, leadership is defined as “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal “

Feminism would not exist without the many great leaders and the thousands of women who have been led throughout the past few centuries. The concept of leadership and how it should be defined and utilized has changed many times throughout history, and the idea of feminism leadership has changed with it

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued Through the first three decades of the 1900s, leadership was geared

toward domination with emphasis on leader power and control. Within this time, we have what is now called “First wave feminism”

First wave feminism was the beginning of all feminism that focused primarily on legal issues and gaining equality

Within America, the fight for gender equality dealt with women’s suffrage, that is the right to vote

In synchronization with the popular definition of leadership at this time, many famous women are known as “activists” for the Women’s Rights Movement. Leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Lucy Stone, and Susan B. Anthony led in a way that emphasized direct and vigorous action in support of women’s suffrage. With these strong and dominating leaders, women gained the right to vote in 1920.

+Feminist History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued By the time period of the second wave feminism, the definition

of leadership had become “a behavior that influences people toward shared goals”(Northouse, 3). Second wave feminism began around 1960

First wave feminism was densely focused on one goal: woman's right to vote, whereas second wave feminism was focused on a multitude of topics that required equality within genders

The debate was broadened in 1960s to issues of sexuality, family, the workplace, reproductive rights, domestic violence and rape

Women began to get jobs and apply for the military, two things that hadn’t been done before the second wave feminism

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued

Women were willing to change the way they lived because leaders during the second wave showed them what they could accomplish. These women following were not just told what could be done like in the first wave of feminism, they were shown they could make a difference with the leadership style of persuasion and demonstration

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued Within the time period of the second wave, many

important historical events happened for women’s rights. The following list of events that changed and improved women’s freedom from governmental laws that restrained equality:

“The Food and Drug Administration approved the first oral contraceptive, commonly known as "the Pill," for sale as birth control in the United States

the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including the Title VII prohibition of discrimination based on sex

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued

the National Organization for Women, known as NOW, was founded, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 was amended to prohibit discrimination based on sex along with race, color, religion and national origin

the United Nations declared 1975 International Women’s Year and organized the first World Conference on Women

the Supreme Court ruled in Taylor v. Louisiana that it was unconstitutional to deny women jury service

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued Third wave feminism began in the early 1990s and has

carried us until the present day

Again the definition of leadership has transformed and is now generally recognized as one or more persons engaging “with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality”(Northouse, 4)

Today’s leading feminist are numerous. A specific leader worth mentioning is Cathy Young. Young is an author and journalist with two published books, a column in Newsday and RealClearPolitics.com, a frequent contributor to the libertarian monthly Reason, and most importantly she is actively working towards women’s equality in America

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued Young is able to speak for the entire feminist population within her

writings. In her recent journal “Yes, Patriarchy Is Dead; Feminist Prove It,” she discusses both the drastic changes that have been accomplished with America’s government and society, but she also targets what must be done in the future to continue the progression of gender equality.

Feminism is commonly misconstrued as crazy women who hate all men, to this belief Young states that “focusing on ‘patriarchy’ as ‘an enemy we can take down’ is a counterproductive distraction from the real issues”

Young shares that the only way for feminism to have a positive future is to “reinvent itself” and the long standing definition it upholds. The only way for feminism to survive is to a “gender equity movement advocating for both sexes and against all sexism”(Young)

+Feminism History/Critical Discussion of how Leadership is applied in Media Continued That idea is displayed within the recently famous speech by feminist

and actress, Emma Watson. Emma Watson argues that feminism does not only affect women, but it limits men as well

In her moving speech at a United Nations Conference last September, Emma Watson stated, “I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear it would make them look less ‘macho’—in fact in the UK suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20 49 years of age; eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality either.”

Emma Watson argues that feminism is commonly misconstrued as a problem only for women, when infact the future of feminism itself lies in men and women alike fighting for gender equality. The leadership action that she is using is teaching the uneducated that men, too, should care about the feminist accomplishments and the feminist future.

+Critical Analysis of Media Coverage

Feminism became a leading issue in 2013 when celebrities identified themselves as feminists

Among this movement, magazines, television shows, and even themed headlines show how people are becoming more aware of what feminism actually is

Many people argue that it’s something that is “in season” or that “feminism is back in fashion” since the media coverage is a majority of celebrities and pretty faces. However, does it really If you simply look up the word ‘feminism’, the vast majority of it is articles that are something like, “Why are Men Against Feminism”, or “Women Against Feminism”, and “Who Needs Feminism?”

+Critical Analysis Continued

The true first ‘wave’ of feminism was during the 1960’s and the 1970’s. The media has convinced people that if you’re a feminist then you are “man hating” and “whiny”

They have conducted this negative connotation for everyone, thus making it seem rebellious in a way when you identify yourself as a feminist

“Thus the mainstream media increasingly reinforced stereotypes of feminists as confrontational, aggressive, unfeminine, man-haters, bitter, angry, infertile, lesbian, and asexual.” As Patricia Bradley put it, “The problem with the equal rights strategy was that many of [National Organization for Women]’s demonstrations lacked drama, which limited the interest of the press.”

During this time, many people, mostly men, did not take this concept seriously, creating a “complicated relationship between the media and the movement”. They had headlines titled “The Feminine Mistake” with stories that painted a picture for the general public that feminism was bad

+Critical Analysis Continued

People are more accepting of powerful women because women, at the moment, have the greatest influence than we’ve ever had, and the influence just continues to rise

The media now shows influential women speaking on behalf of feminism in a way that doesn’t make it seem negative

Beyoncé states, “We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet… Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change”.

+How images of leadership and leaders in feminism are constructed through the discourses of identity Emma Watson’s Feminism Timeline:

“I started questioning gender-based assumptions when at eight I was confused at being called ‘bossy,’ because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our parents—but the boys were not

When at 14 I started being sexualized by certain elements of the press

When at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’

I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word.”

+How images of leadership and leaders in feminism are constructed through the discourses of identity continued Even just sixty years ago women were not allowed to

have some of the same jobs men were, as mentioned in the book Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders.

In that time, and even still to some extent today, men believed that they “should be breadwinners and women should be homemakers,” leaving society to believe that a woman’s identity rested solely in her ability to cook and clean (Eagly 3)

Emma Watson has broken through the exclusion, finding herself a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and an advocate for feminism

+How power and identity co-construct notions of leadership and how a Christian approach to leadership might negotiate this issue

Power is, contrary to popular belief, arguably separate from identity in leadership

History and human nature have proven that it is incredibly easy to make one’s own power as their identity and often times, one can become consumed with and addicted to the pursuit of power, letting their lust ultimately define who they are

Power is easily abused

A leader’s identity is much more than being confined to be a person of full power as power comes in many different forms. However, power exercised appropriately can be used for great influence and movement and is absolutely necessary for great leadership

+How power and identity co-construct notions of leadership and how a Christian approach to leadership might negotiate this issue continued

“Leaders who want to get things done need power. And to get power (in the sense of power through, rather than power over, Turner, 2005), they need to be entrepreneurs of identity.” (Haslam, Reicher, Platow, 2005)

Often times, corrupt leaders or leaders who are slaves to the cycle of the sole pursuit of power over people get this part wrong. They seek power over people, rather than through. After all, leadership is influencing others to follow and behave a certain way by their own will because they want to.

+How power and identity co-construct notions of leadership and how a Christian approach to leadership might negotiate this issue continued

The issue of feminism is an extremely contentious topic, one that often evokes hostility and friction between the sexes. As Emma Watson stated in her He for She speech addressed to the United Nations, “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.”

Both women and men are at fault of blaming and hating and disregarding the sexes. As Watson stated in her speech, feminism by definition is fighting for the social, economic, and political equality of women with men, the intention of feminism is not to teach hate toward men and boys and their roles in society. Men and women both have struggles and have been made victims and oppressors in certain situations; however, it is time that we look at this issue from a different perspective

+How power and identity co-construct notions of leadership and how a Christian approach to leadership might negotiate this issue continued

As long as there is sin in this world, there will always be inequality. This, by any means, does not mean we should not speak for the oppressed or stand for justice; perhaps we should view equality in a different light

Equality does not necessarily mean that men and women do the same, it’s more about being the same. The truth of the matter is that men and women were indeed created differently, but equality can be achieved when two points of views are considered equally significant and when both men and women’s roles are seen as equally respectable and crucial to society, because after all, men and women are all made in God’s image.

+How power and identity co-construct notions of leadership and how a Christian approach to leadership might negotiate this issue continued

As Christians and as leaders, we are called to love one another and “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:2) The fact is that the Lord created BOTH men and women and

we are meant to be together in harmony It is time to quit focusing on the word feminism and start

acknowledging that gender equality is a relevant and weighty issue among both sexes

The world needs both men and women to be on the same page to be able to successfully create change in the effort to eradicate some of the evident injustices

+How power and identity co-construct notions of leadership and how a Christian approach to leadership might negotiate this issue continued

We encourage you all to become “inadvertent feminists,” men and women who understand the significance of the roles of women and girls and the honor and rights they deserve as humans

“It is not the word that is important, it is the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have been afforded the same rights [that women in developed, democratic countries have]” (Watson)

Women in America aren’t nearly as oppressed in other countries at all and that is why it is so important that we, as leaders with the resources and power to do so, spread hope and awareness of this issue across the globe to redefine and reconcile the estranged relationship between men and women.

+Questions?