Emma Watson Defends Self Over 'White Feminist' Label

Emma Watson Attends Tribeca Film Festival
Emma Watson at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 2012. |

"Harry Potter" alum Emma Watson has done great work as the United Nations' ambassadress for gender equality and the HeForShe campaign. However, there are still some people who are criticizing her work.

There are actually people who believe that the actress is a "white feminist" who also belittles the work of women by making men seem like their saviors instead of being their allies.

According to the Huffington Post, a white feminist is someone who considers feminism as not "intersectional, ignoring issues that specifically affect women of color, women with disabilities, and trans women."

So when Watson was confronted during a recent Q&A portion on Twitter about being labelled a "white feminist," the actress tweeted in response: 

"I'm glad this question came up. I've been thinking about it a lot. White feminist implies an exclusion of black women from the movement which I find surprising because my own bosses (and the people who gave me the job) are two black women."

"It implies that I am not aware of my own privilege but I mention my own good luck/fortune/privilege something like 5 times in my UN speech and my wish to make sure other women have access to the same opportunities I have," she further said.

The actress said that being labelled as a "white feminist" even implies that she has a "willful ignorance" or "neglect of the issues surrounding intersectionality."

But nothing could be further from the truth, she said, since she sincerely wants to create a platform for intersectional feminists. 

"I want to hear as many voices as possible," Watson wrote. "I want to hear other people's stories. This is a universal and global movement."

"I want as many people as possible to feel seen, heard and included in this movement," she added.

After a couple of more questions concerning her new movies such as "The Circle" and "Regression," Watson wrapped up the discussion by tweeting: "Sorry I didn't get 2everyone,there were some great questions there.Thank u for being so supportive, as ever."

In other news, Watson lauded "The Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence when the latter wrote a lengthy article slamming the pay gap between men and women in Hollywood.

"I'm over trying to find the 'adorable' way to state my opinion," Lawrence said in the article, saying that it's time she voice out her true feelings without worrying about coming off as a spoiled brat.