While a lot of people find this photo at odds with her feminist message, those who say that it is all fine still call her a hypocrite for criticizing Beyonce for doing the same thing a few years ago.
Emma Watson's move is questionable on so many levels.
She calls herself a feminist and she speaks of how women should not be sexualized in society. Yet, she sexualizes herself on a magazine to sell her new movie; which incidentally, is Beauty and the Beast, a beautiful Disney movie with a heroine loved by children. This makes it all the more inappropriate.
As if this far-from-classy, half-naked picture is not bad enough, she defends herself in far-from-classy language as well: "I really don't know what my t*ts have to do with it". She goes on to say that people are accusing her of not being feminist for having "boobs", and surprisingly does not seem to realize that the fuss was not about her having breasts, but her choosing to bare them on magazine covers while claiming to be a feminist.
A popular image uploaded on Facebook about what feminism really is.
There are a number of people who defend it saying that women should be able to wear whatever they want and that includes choosing to be naked. It is surprising that people do not seem to realize that while wearing what we want is everyone's freedom, if we appear half-naked while doing so, it is a matter of public indecency. Legit questions to ask would be: why do these people consider Emma Watson being half-naked classy, while a stripper or a prostitute being half-naked as sleazy? Would they consider it "feminism" if their daughter goes out wearing what Emma is wearing for this photo? Or would they view it kindly if their sons are in possession of magazines with women posing half-naked on the cover? Is it respectful to women, while companies are making money out of portraying women that way? What about smaller children, who look up to Emma Watson, seeing this picture of "feminism" and "embracing sexuality"? What does "embracing sexuality" even mean? Is it not being done a tad too much in this pornified society where women are sexualized everywhere? Maybe we should be focusing less on sex, and more on dignity? Modesty is something all humans must have and it is certainly confusing how some young people do not have it anymore, as demonstrated by Emma Watson, who has no qualms about exhibiting her nakedness for the world to see on magazine covers. It shows a lack of respect for all women whom she claims to stand for, as well as showing no self-respect. Can Emma not have posed for an artsy photo with dignity while being clothed like a decent, civilized human being? And is that not the message that Emma should be giving out as a feminist? That women are people with brains and personalities rather than sexual objects?
There are some who have highlighted the fact that Emma is a "young actress", as if that somehow makes her better than other women, who would be seen as "skanky" if they appear scantily-dressed and exhibit nakedness in public. Has it come to the point that being a "young actress" means lacking modesty and selling nakedness for photos and videos? Have there not been strong, respected women who have done much for the world and gone through their careers without posing for racy photos? If Emma can choose to be whatever she wants to be, why would she choose to be sexualized by the media in a world that has a huge problem of female sexualization? Perhaps it is time these celebrities stopped adopting half-naked Neanderthal fashion, and opted for civilized fashion that covers one's modesty and is suitable for the 21st century.
Emma Watson has built an image for herself as a strong and intelligent woman, amassing very young fans around the world. What kind of message is she giving out to people, especially children, by this photo, and her defending it when criticized (and in such crude language at that)?
And as if this alone is not hypocritical enough, there is the other hypocrisy that everyone is discussing about this incident. Emma previously criticized Beyonce for sexualizing herself and how that is not feminist. And now she does what she herself highlighted as questionable. People have also discussed how it is a matter of racism since a black woman appearing in provocative clothing is bad but a white woman doing it is "elegant".
Emma condemns her critics more by saying: "Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with". In other words, as long as one is a woman, one can do anything and others criticizing you would be seen as an anti-feminist attack.
It is worrisome how those who claim to stand up for feminism and have a massive global following, have double standards and are normalizing sex and female objectification. It is also disturbing how those deemed to be of substance are also hopping on to the pornification bandwagon; not to mention, truly sad that yet another sweet child star has been corrupted into sexualizing herself on magazines, deluded into thinking that is female empowerment. And finally, it is disheartening to see how many people actually do not find anything wrong with it, and even use feminism to defend it.
Emma is but one of many young women, celebrities and not, who objectify themselves in public believing it to be female empowerment, driven by, in varying degrees, the need for attention and popularity. The following video makes fun of this trend in a humorous but brutally honest way:
How to Get Instagram Famous - Ultra Spiritual Life episode 122
Many child stars start sexualizing themselves for money as they grow older; examples being Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan. This brings to mind a rather disturbing article on alleged sexual abuse of child actors in Hollywood. Children, especially those going into stardom are exposed to sex and pressured to sexualize themselves in racy photos and videos from a very young age. Many female celebrities often find themselves pressured to do this for money and fame. It goes to show that these are manifestations of a sick society that needs massive rehabilitation. The questionable "feminism" being promoted by self-proclaimed "feminists" is not helping.
