Running head: Feminist Identity in the Grade 10 ELA Curriculum

Feminist Identity in the Grade 10 ELA Curriculum

Laura Gallup
ECUR 379
University of Saskatchewan
January 30, 2017

Feminist Identity in the Grade 10 Curriculum

Emma Watson (2014), the Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women made a speech is about
why she is a feminist. She begins by saying that there is a misunderstanding surrounding
feminism: that it has become synonymous with man-hating and that this misinterpretation of it
needs to stop. She clarifies the meaning of feminism by giving the definition: that it is the belief
that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities; that there should be political,
economic, and social equality of the sexes. She described the events in her life that made her
question gender-based assumptions, how they led her to decide that she was a feminist, and how
to her, that decision seemed uncomplicated. Unfortunately, the word feminist is becoming quite
an unpopular word, and as a result, many women are choosing not to identify as feminists
(Watson). She begins with the rights women should be afforded: that they should be paid the
same amount as men for the same job, that women should be able to make decisions about their
own bodies, that women should be the ones involved in the decisions and policies that will affect
womens lives, and lastly that socially women should be afforded the same respect as men.
However there is not a single country in the world that has achieved gender equality; these things
should be seen as human rights, yet the majority of women cannot say that they have them
(Watson). Emma Watson continues by saying that she was very privileged to live a life where her
parents didnt love her less because she was born female, that her school did not limit her based
on her gender, and that her mentors did not assume she wouldnt go as far because she might
have a child one day (Watson). These people are inadvertent feminists and gender-equality
ambassadors that are changing the world today (Watson). Watson says, It is not the word
[feminism] that is important, it is the idea and the ambition behind it because not all women
have received the same rights she had. She brings up how men are often not invited to, or dont
feel welcome to join the conversation about feminism, and so she extends a formal invitation

Feminist Identity in the Grade 10 Curriculum

to them because gender equality is [a mens] issue too, because men face inequality because of
their gender as well. Often mens roles as parents are valued less by society; young men suffer
from mental illness unable to ask for help because it would make them seem like less of a man
and as a result for men in the UK, suicide is the highest cause of death for men between the ages
of 20 and 49 surpassing cancer, car accidents, and coronary heart disease; men are made to feel
insecure by the distorted sense of what constitutes male success (Watson). She continues by
saying that when things change for men, they will also change for women as a natural
consequence. Watson says that if men dont have to be aggressive in order to be accepted,
women wont feel compelled to be submissive; if men dont have to control, women wont have
to be controlled; both men and women should feel free to be both sensitive and strong. She
concludes by asking: If not me, who? If not now, when? (Watson, 2014).
Although Emma Watson stepped outside of the assumption that feminism is only about
women and chose to discuss mens issues as well, one criticism that I have for this speech is that
she did not look at the issues transgender people face, or the difficulties people of colour may
face that are completely different and oftentimes worse than the strictly mens and womens
issues she has mentioned. I understand that she likely had a time limit and couldnt speak about
the issues of every group, however, if she wants to cover all of the bases of intersectional
feminism, these must be some of the things she looks at in the future.
This could be a great resource to allow the students to explore the ideals of feminism and
what it means to identify as a feminist. This video could be used for an ELA B10 unit on Equity
and Ethics as its focuses are on Who and What is Right? Empowerment; Degrees of
Responsibility; Rights and Responsibilities; [and] Justice and Fairness (Ministry of Education,
2013). I think students in grade 10 are capable of beginning to learn and talk about things such as

Feminist Identity in the Grade 10 Curriculum

feminism. Some questions I might ask my students are: What are your thoughts on Emma
Watsons statements regarding feminism? (perhaps using a few specific examples from her
speech), what do you think was missing from her speech, and why? bringing up issues
transgender people and people of colour experience, Do you think it was beneficial to include
mens issues alongside womens issues? and Do you think asking men to join the discussion
was helpful, and why? From here I might get them to write a response piece where they answer
these questions and discuss their views on feminism after watching this video.

Feminist Identity in the Grade 10 Curriculum

References
Watson, E (2014). Emma Watson at the HeForShe Campaign 2014 - Official UN Video.
(2014). YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk
Ministry of Education (2013). English Language Arts 10 Curriculum. Edonline.sk.ca.
Retrieved from
https://www.edonline.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/curricula/English/English_Language_Arts/Englis
h_Language_Arts_10_2011.pdf