After reading Rod Liddle’s misogynistic piece on Emma Watson, all you can do is gasp. The irony is perfect. A speech at the UN on fighting for the equality of women, dismissed as ‘whiny, leftie, PC crap’. There’s a difference between going crazy, political correctness, and fighting inequality. It’s ridiculous! Emma Watson, a graduate from Brown University, has chosen to use the fame she gained through acting to help promote a cause which is evidently still a massive issue in the world. This should be admired, rather than criticised solely because of Watson’s gender. I wonder, for example, what Mr Liddle would have written if this was a male celebrity: David Beckham perhaps, or George Clooney. I bet he didn’t make a fuss when they set up their campaigns, more rather they were heralded as legends.

Liddle questions why we listen to all these ‘actresses’. As if, just because they are actresses, and more to the point female, they should have no opinion, no ideas and be completely ignorant. I do not want to disregard celebrities’, such as David Beckham’s, work; I do want to question why the media immediately supports him and sees his work as valuable, while females such as Emma Watson are criticised and seen as having some ulterior motive, manipulating their way into these organisations, or it’s seen as a joke. It has taken many years for Angelina Jolie’s work to be taken seriously and even now people are still sceptical. Caroline Siede suggests this is due to our culture, as we have had so many male protagonists and so few female, meaning we can categorise men better but struggle to understand women.

There are many celebrities who have supported campaigns, and sometimes you do question whether they are truly invested in them, but there is no denying they attract a huge amount of publicity and gain momentum for their causes which would otherwise be ignored by the public. Therefore, it is understandable that they are allowed to reach assemblies such as these and can potentially make a difference. But why is it that when a woman reaches this platform she is out of place or merely whining? This immediate disregard of what they are saying is inbuilt into our society, and the longer these images are indulged, the more difficult it will be to break them. One key issue here is while many people are appalled by the article, at the same time everyone is thinking that it’s just typical of The Sun. Sexism is expected if not predicted, so why isn’t it being stopped?

To borrow Liddle’s own words, he ‘can have opinions’, but I do not understand why they are being validated by being published in a newspaper with one of the largest readerships in the country? I’d rather hear Hermione Granger’s opinions any day.

Martha Wood

(Image courtesy of J Countess)