Elizabeth Lee
“No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality,” said U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson.
HeforShe is a campaign created by the United Nations for men and boys to take action against unequal rights of women. Watson speaks of how getting men involved with the cause will bring gender equality closer to a reality for all nations.
Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Although this sounds pleasant, many people have a distorted view when feminism is mentioned due to the stereotypes of society.
“A lot of people think of feminism in a way that isn’t what it actually is,” said junior Sarah Salajka. “They think that women are trying to be more powerful than men when it’s really that they just want to be equal in all senses of the word…They believe that men and women should be equal in power and opportunities.”
Women have been oppressed for a considerable amount of time; unfortunately, this sort of prejudice is still present now. According to the American Association of University Women, women in the U.S. are paid about 78% of what men are paid in almost every occupation. Factors such as race or the presence of a child influences their pay as well.
Men and women are set by society to be at a certain standard as a result of their gender rather than who they are as an individual. These forms of discrimination can be seen in athletic events as well.
“In middle school, they wouldn’t let the boys and girls play together in gym. They would have separate times where the boys would have their game and the girls would have theirs,” said sophomore Seeta Shah.
Other examples can even be seen by a woman’s own family.
“My grandmother didn’t go to college because her mother didn’t allow it. She didn’t believe that women should go to college,” said Salajka.
That sort of mindset takes place not only in the past but in modern time as well.
“I guess in a way I have been faced with prejudice. Sometimes I don’t want to cook but my mom says that since I’m a girl I have to,” said anonymous.
In Watson’s speech at the UN, she also addressed unequal rights for men. Gender equality, as suggested by its name, is the same rights for both men and women. Similarly to women, men are expected to have a certain standard.
“There’s a cultural expectation that if I express compassion or care or have more of a nurturing feel for somebody or something…it can be viewed as ‘that’s not me’ or ‘guys don’t do that kind of thing,” said History of the Americas teacher Rob Thomas.
People measure a man’s masculinity by his appearance and his behavior. However the outer, physical aspect should not be the only determinant of how “manly” you are.
“Being short and apparently not as muscular as every other guy makes other guys see you as more like a woman. Like you’re small and not a normal man’s size so you’re looked down upon as feminine,” said sophomore Rogers Prewitt.
So as both sides of the coin have faced an injustice, hopefully the people can empathize with another and not only follow the campaign of HeforShe, but also recognize that a hypothetical SheforHe campaign is needed as well to move forward in the act towards gender equality.
But as of now, the HeforShe movement can be the first step towards the goal. Instead of just women helping women, gaining the other half of the people will help tremendously.
“I think a lot of women are worried about supporting feminism because of how guys are going to react. I feel like if you have men supporting it, a lot more women will be less afraid to take advantage of their rights they deserve,” said sophomore Tia Glover.
To get involved with the campaign, go to www.heforshe.org for more information on how to take action in the fight towards gender equality.
Go to http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too to read Watson’s speech at the HeforShe campaign.
“No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality,” said U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson.
HeforShe is a campaign created by the United Nations for men and boys to take action against unequal rights of women. Watson speaks of how getting men involved with the cause will bring gender equality closer to a reality for all nations.
Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Although this sounds pleasant, many people have a distorted view when feminism is mentioned due to the stereotypes of society.
“A lot of people think of feminism in a way that isn’t what it actually is,” said junior Sarah Salajka. “They think that women are trying to be more powerful than men when it’s really that they just want to be equal in all senses of the word…They believe that men and women should be equal in power and opportunities.”
Women have been oppressed for a considerable amount of time; unfortunately, this sort of prejudice is still present now. According to the American Association of University Women, women in the U.S. are paid about 78% of what men are paid in almost every occupation. Factors such as race or the presence of a child influences their pay as well.
Men and women are set by society to be at a certain standard as a result of their gender rather than who they are as an individual. These forms of discrimination can be seen in athletic events as well.
“In middle school, they wouldn’t let the boys and girls play together in gym. They would have separate times where the boys would have their game and the girls would have theirs,” said sophomore Seeta Shah.
Other examples can even be seen by a woman’s own family.
“My grandmother didn’t go to college because her mother didn’t allow it. She didn’t believe that women should go to college,” said Salajka.
That sort of mindset takes place not only in the past but in modern time as well.
“I guess in a way I have been faced with prejudice. Sometimes I don’t want to cook but my mom says that since I’m a girl I have to,” said anonymous.
In Watson’s speech at the UN, she also addressed unequal rights for men. Gender equality, as suggested by its name, is the same rights for both men and women. Similarly to women, men are expected to have a certain standard.
“There’s a cultural expectation that if I express compassion or care or have more of a nurturing feel for somebody or something…it can be viewed as ‘that’s not me’ or ‘guys don’t do that kind of thing,” said History of the Americas teacher Rob Thomas.
People measure a man’s masculinity by his appearance and his behavior. However the outer, physical aspect should not be the only determinant of how “manly” you are.
“Being short and apparently not as muscular as every other guy makes other guys see you as more like a woman. Like you’re small and not a normal man’s size so you’re looked down upon as feminine,” said sophomore Rogers Prewitt.
So as both sides of the coin have faced an injustice, hopefully the people can empathize with another and not only follow the campaign of HeforShe, but also recognize that a hypothetical SheforHe campaign is needed as well to move forward in the act towards gender equality.
But as of now, the HeforShe movement can be the first step towards the goal. Instead of just women helping women, gaining the other half of the people will help tremendously.
“I think a lot of women are worried about supporting feminism because of how guys are going to react. I feel like if you have men supporting it, a lot more women will be less afraid to take advantage of their rights they deserve,” said sophomore Tia Glover.
To get involved with the campaign, go to www.heforshe.org for more information on how to take action in the fight towards gender equality.
Go to http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too to read Watson’s speech at the HeforShe campaign.