Emma Watson Speaks In Praise of "Difficult Women"

Emma Watson recently sat down for an interview with Esquire where she addressed the pay gap in Hollywood, and some of the backlash she's received for being vocal about gender equality. The magazine quotes her as follows:

ESQ: A few high-profile women in Hollywood seem to be speaking out about inequality now. Charlize Theron publicly demanded equal pay with her co-star Chris Hemsworth for the Snow White and the Huntsman prequel. Is this a tipping point?

EW: "I'm not sure who put out the wage gap [between Theron and Hemsworth on the first film] but it took a hack unfortunately, the Sony hack, for Jennifer [Lawrence] to talk about the extent to which the prejudice was there for her, [her American Hustle co-star] Amy Adams and women generally. 

We are not supposed to talk about money, because people will think you're "difficult" or a "diva". But there's a willingness now to be like, "Fine. Call me a 'diva', call me 'difficult', call me a "First World feminist', call me whatever you want, it's not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing and make sure that the right thing happens." Because it doesn't just affect me, it affects all the other women who are in this with me, and it affects all the other men who are in this with me, too. 

Hollywood is just a small piece of a gigantic puzzle but it's in the spotlight. Whether you are a woman on a tea plantation in Kenya, or a stockbroker on Wall Street, or a Hollywood actress, no one is being paid equally."

ESQ: A lot of men may have issues with describing themselves as "a feminist". Why is it important this should change?

EW: "There are misconceptions about the word. The way it is constructed — it's obviously got 'feminine' in the word — immediately pushes men away from it, because they think, "Oh, it's got nothing to do with me." Also, they have this idea that it is about women competing with men, or being against men, or wanting to be men, which is a huge misconception. 

Women want to be women. We just want to be treated equally. It's not about man hating. [US feminist, author and activist] Bell Hooks says, "Patriarchy has no gender." It's true."

ESQ: So, you get that it's tricky?

EW: "It's really easy to trip up. I do it all the time and I'm engaged with it every day. Even the way that our language is constructed is difficult. I say "guys" to a room of girls all the time. I've even come out with "Man up!" And I consider myself to be someone who is engaged with this topic. The language is so ingrained and unconscious it's easy to make a mistake. 

Gloria Steinem says feminism isn't about being perfect. [US writer] Rebecca Solnit says it's not about being puritanical. We aren't expecting men to be gender experts, just engaged and conscientious."

Read the full interview at Esquire.