The Possibility of Success
The cultural myth I will be discussing is Emma Watson's He for She address to the Women's United Nation meeting. The concept of men and women's rights is a major topic all over the word.
Emma Watson's speech at the Women's UN has been watched over 11 million times and has been mentioned in over 1.2 billions social media posts. Clearly the ideal has resonated with people all over the world. In her address Watson says "...there is no one country in the world who has achieved gender equality." She continues on to challenge men and boys to join the campaign He for She. She offers them a formal invitation to join and tells them that gender equality is their issue too. The purpose of the campaign-- and the speech-- is to encourage the public to join the crusade for gender equality.
Watson uses the word "Free" multiple times in her speech to suggest that if people join the campaign they will succeed and be free. Free to express emotions, free to be paid the same amount, free to be themselves. Women's rights and any appeal on their behalf are considered encouraging a minority to look for success, which is the definition of Larsen's Possibility of success myth. Her entire message convinces the listener that without gender equality we will fail, and that by striving for gender equality we can achieve greatness.
Each of the premises are addressed in her speech, however two of them stand out more than others-- emotion and attitude. Watson uses a strong emotional component to paint a picture. Using personal stories and her own life experiences she captivates the listener and persuades them that gender equality must be achieved. She also uses the premise of attitude. In the beginning of her speech she addresses the issues or the attitude that feminists are men haters and gender equality is only designed to put men down. She shifts the attitude by inviting men to participate in the cause. She offers them a "formal invitation" to change the lives of men and women around the world by joining the gender equality cause. Stating that gender equality will benefit men as well.
Feminism, as a word, does have a certain negative connotation to it. I think that it comes from a minority of very outspoken few who, perhaps, portrayed themselves as "men-haters." I would agree that this is a men problem just as it is a women problem. We get so locked into our roles as sons and daughters and as mothers and fathers that much of this socialization goes on without us even being aware. It's so pervasive that it translates into every aspect of society. Emma Watson does certainly have a vision of the possibility of success. You chose a very good example of this. I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteVery powerful speech from a extremely intelligent woman. It is awesome to see this topic being spoken about with bluntness and clarity. We definitely could use more voices like Emma Watson speaking out about any inequalities our world has. I believe that her message and others like it can make all the difference by being shared with such a large audience. I like that she also tries to clarify what the word "feminism" actually means rather than the stigma it currently has. We are taking steps in the right direction, baby steps, but steps non-the-less. Great choice.
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