A Wee Thing of a Girl Shows Her Power

Is the world ready to let her have power? She might not care.
She has it already. Now for the rest of us...

Emma Watson, in her new role as U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador, recently spoke at the United Nations to announce her new initiative, He for She.

After watching the speech, my question is, what part of what she said is in any way contestable? Who would not want to help her, and women, and mankind, along with her project, women's equality?

Of course, though slight in form, Emma Watson is no "wee thing of a girl." She's a woman who, so far in life, has handled herself with grace and dignity. She now embraces a larger role, one that is easily characterized, at least in its current state of evolution, as Sisyphean in scope.

So, answers to my questions are: Nothing in what she said is contestable; no one should want not to help her in her quest. But the state of women's equality in the world says that many stand against her, either openly or through sheer acquiescence.

As a lifelong male feminist, I'm all in with Ms. Watson's project. I just hope my implicit gender bias, like my implicit racial bias, doesn't make me the fool too much more in life.

I'm for you, and your cause, Emma Watson. It's a human cause, and there's no bigger one.

Malala Yousafzai: Another girl as large as the world. More like her, please.