Emma Watson Gender Equality Speech: Rhetorical Analysis

Introduction

Emma Watson is a feminist and role model for young girls who are confused why they are suddenly treated different to boys and gives them an answer to why, and shows that there is a problem with gender equality that needs to be addressed. The argument that Emma Watson wanted to put across was taken in her gender equality speech at the United Nations (UN), in September 2014 and influenced many people around the world since then. Emma’s speech spoke about the idea of gender inequality, whether that was socially, economically or politically. However she didn’t just want to talk about it, she wanted action so she put together a uniting movement called ‘HeForShe’. In the duration of the speech Emma confessed that she was nervous going into the speech but she thought to herself, “If not me who?” “If not now, when?” and that’s really something that spoke to people because it shows there wasn’t action happening with gender equality, and something needs to be done soon.

Analysis of Emma Watson's Gender Equality Speech

Audience and Purpose

Emma came into the UN with a vision to change the minds of people uneducated in the gender equality issue that is a big problem in the world we live in. The speech was aimed for men and women who can make a difference, and saying that no matter who you are you are impacted onto this subject because you have to know that what is happening around you is wrong and that there is an issue present. Emma states at the very beginning of her speech what she wants to do be saying she wants to ‘galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality’ showing that her aim was to get the message out there in the UN and for men and boys to support the fight against gender equality. At a later date on March 2015, in an interview for her ‘HeforShe’ campaign, she tells us that she wanted to communicate to people that gender equality was predominantly known for being a ‘woman’s movement’ for woman and she wanted to address the impact that it has on men and that she wanted to address the fact that gender inequality effect males as well as females.

Persuasive techniques

The ‘HeForShe’ speech, is a speech that sent Emma’s message across, and the way she got her ideas across was with persuasive techniques. Emma combines the gender limitations of both men and women and shows this in her speech in her use of her own anecdote of her life saying “When at 14, I started begin sexualized by certain elements of the press” and “When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’” so she talked about how this issue affected her, and how many years she has put up with girls changing around her for the likes of being too much like a man. Within her speech she repeats the idea with the use of generalisation in feminism, and points it out in many of her main points, you can tell this just because of she starts off her speech with “We want to end gender inequality” and ended her speech with “I am invited you to step forward, to be seen, to speak up, to be the ‘he’ for ‘she’” this proves my point that she is aiming her idea of her speech mainly around gender inequality and how men should be addressed. Watson uses alliteration throughout her whole speech, with her use of “We” it might look like a small word but in adding this into her speech she sends her audience the message that she is involving them into the issue and that she isn’t one she is many. Ending her speech with “if not me, who? If not now, when?” shows her use of a rhetorical question to emphasis her ethos and to convince the audience that now is as good of a time as any to start fighting for gender equality.

Speech delivery

The way that the speech is directed/ put across, is a vital part when giving a speech and says a lot about how you want to people to feel when they’re listening to your speech. Emma gave her voice across as a strong female role model trying to change the way people see the world. Throughout her speech she changes her tone due to the rate of seriousness, for example when she is giving her anecdote about herself, she uses a serious tone because what has happened in her life is really serious, and closer to the end when she says “You might be thinking who is this harry potter girl?” She uses a tone that is a bit less serious but overall she uses a genuine, earnest tone. One of Emma’s lines in her speech is when she uses multiple rhetorical questions, “And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now, when?” While saying this she says it with emphasis in the question to really put out that someone needs to do something or nothing will be done.

Body language

The body language that Emma used in putting forward her speech was that she was very confident when delivering her speech and that showed she wanted us, the audience, to take off that she was talking about a very serious topic. Watson appears to be comfortable and strong when behind the podium this shows her confidence throughout the presentation of her speech. During her speech she shows no significant changes in her stance or the way she moves. However at points during her speech she uses hand movements and eye contact to try and connect herself with the listeners. Emma’s consistent body language allows the audience to focus more on her purpose and tone which gives a persuasive edge to the speech.

Reflection of speech

Emma Watson’s speech was overall very moving and powerful, she went into the UN with dedication to find advocates or people to support her in her mission against gender inequality. In her speech she was very strong about her topic and used a lot of persuasive techniques which made her speech very touching. Her speech effected millions with, on the 24th of February 2019, 2 million 3 thousand 300 gender equality commitments in the ‘HeForShe’ campaign. Emma came into the United Nations with a goal and went home knowing she was successful, she accomplished her overall aim by using her speech as a way to get her innovation across to men and people of all genders in solidarity with women to create visible, bold united force for a gender equalized world.  

References

1. Watson, E. (2014). Emma Watson's speech at the United Nations: Gender equality is your issue too. UN Women. Retrieved from https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too

2. Watson, E. (2015). Emma Watson Launches HeForShe Arts Week at the Public Theater. UN Women. Retrieved from https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2015/3/emma-watson-launches-heforshe-arts-week

3. HeForShe. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.heforshe.org/

4. Allen, P. (2016). Emma Watson's UN Speech: A Rhetorical Analysis. The Language and Literature Journal, 14(3), 35-46.

5. Pahlavan, F. (2019). Emma Watson’s Speeches: An Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies. International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies, 7(1), 52-61.

6. Valenti, J. (2014). Emma Watson: Your feminism won't be televised. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/23/emma-watson-gender-equality-feminism

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7. WomenWatch. (2014). International Women's Day 2015: Emma Watson's moving speech about gender equality. United Nations. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd/emma-watson/