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Is Social Media the Hogwarts of Social Justice?

Alohomora 

If only she could pick up a wand and shout "Alohomora" at closed minds to open them up, because it appears that as a muggle, she has no chance. After her speech on feminism this past Saturday for the HeforShe campaign at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, the Harry Potter Actress, turned advocate, and currently a goodwill ambassador for UN Women, is facing an array of extreme feedback. Mostly positive and praising but illuminate the realities of our world, pointed out in her speech. 

Here are 18 beautiful minutes:
And here are aggravating few seconds of your life that you waste on this website:
This is a reaction site telling Watson that she is  going to be the next actress who will be the target of what has caused a stir in Hollywood and Social Media this month; nudes. This hacker, has taken over icloud accounts of stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton and released their private photos. 


"If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive." Emma Watson

Watson's words eloquently express that men have to be a part of the dialogue of equality between all genders. In order to do so we need to create a world in which men feel comfortable being sensitive  and do not find comfort in aggression to prove their masculinity. Unfortunately, and quite ironically, the owner of the website has gone out of their way, once again, to use aggression and put a woman down. The message is clear. It is as though they are saying "Emma your message was too strong, so let us devalue you by using the very thing you are speaking up for, your womanhood, and shame you."

Here's the great twist though: for every great woman and her great deed, there may be a great jack***, but for every jack***, there are also millions of great open minded people and their words to wash down the jack***'s efforts. 

And the platform that allows those great people to work their magic? Social Media.  
Let's look at recent Social Media posts for Emma. 

                                              

These are only a few of the hundreds of posts supporting Emma and the campaign. So shame on the jack*** for standing out for all the wrong reasons.

Emma's Spell 

Within a day of her speech, the world is sharing it, talking about it, and commenting on it. This phenomenon has given the campaign itself enough exposure to get those who may have been uninterested before to look into feminism and the real meaning behind it. Before Social Media we did not have this kind of power. If we can communicate and change minds on the issue of feminism and gender equality at this rate, could Social Media be the ultimate Hogwarts where our spells can change our world? It is definitely not that simple. But I believe Social Media has the potential to get people passionate and thinking. Social Media, in my opinion, is a virtual platform for potential revolutions.   

So let me end this post by asking you to retweet, hashtag, and share the HeforShe campaign and Emma's speech, whether it is to praise it or criticize it. Regardless of where you stand on what she has said and her brand of feminism, your input perpetuates the dialogue. She has given us her star power; it is now on us to take that however we like and make the most of it. Like she says:"If not me, who? If not now, when?"

What did you think of Emma Watson's speech and the HeforShe campaign? 







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