Prior to a powerful speech given by Emma Watson in 2014 for her HeForShe gender equality campaign, the Harry Potter actress was told not to use the word “feminism,”; but ultimately decided against it.
Covering this month’s issue of Porter magazine, Watson, 25, explains how the word was not encouraged “because people felt that it was alienating and separating and the whole idea of the speech was to include as many people as possible.”;
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“But I thought long and hard and ultimately felt that it was just the right thing to do,”; the Regression actress adds. “If women are terrified to use the word, how on earth are men supposed to start using it?”;
She further explains how identifying herself as a feminist is important because it gives her her own identity other than being constantly comparison to her most iconic role, as Hermione Granger in the J.K. Rowling movie franchise.
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“For the first time in my life I feel like I have a sense of self that I’m comfortable with,”; Watson says. “I actually do have things that I want to say and I want to be my most authentic self.”;