Thank you, Emma Watson

If you scroll around my blog, you’ll see that I have criticized celebrity feminists, including Emma Watson, for ignoring race, sexuality, and class when they talk about feminism–they only say stuff like, “Feminism isn’t man-hating!” and that sort of thing.

A few days ago, I found out that someone tweeted Emma Watson asking if she was a white feminist. Now, we all know that Emma Watson’s race is white. But “white feminist” refers to a feminist who dismisses or ignores the many kinds of oppression that get tangled up with sexism. A white feminist, therefore, only stands up for rights that will only benefit straight white, middle class females (who are usually nonreligious and able). Thankfully, Watson responded, and here it is:

There are a few things that aren’t right with her post, such as the statement that white feminism “implies an exclusion of black women”. White feminism doesn’t just exclude black women; it excludes women of color in general. And the statement that she “can’t speak on behalf of intersectional feminists specifically”–I think she means WoC, disabled women, LGBT women, etc.

But maybe that’s just my being petty. For the most part, I’m glad that she understands that HeForShe is a global movement and the globe is not entirely made up of white people. Even though it wasn’t very explicitly mentioned in her speech in 2014, I’m glad Watson understands the importance of intersectionality in feminism.

Thank you, Emma Watson.