Well, this is refreshing.
A 15-year-old boy from Britain has penned a mature and eloquent letter, defending Emma Watson’s gender equality speech to the United Nations.
In the face of the vitriol directed at Watson last week, it’s nice to see a young man proudly declare that feminism is on his radar. And something he fully supports.
Ed Holtom’s letter to the editor was published in The Sunday Telegraph, and his poignant words have quickly been shared through social media channels worldwide. Take a read below:
His message is an important one that Watson emphasised too: Feminism is about the social, political and economic inequality of the sexes. If that is ever to happen, men need to get on board too. Should be simple, really.
But paying women the same wages as men, or hiring them in traditionally male-dominated fields is only one step. The #heforshe campaign Watson championed also aims to stop the gendered language that surrounds us all from birth. The type teaching us women can’t do all the things men can do, or vice versa.
You can watch Emma Watson’s speech to the United Nations on the #heforshe campaign here:
An excited Holtom has since told CNN that he didn’t write the letter for accolades, but to stand in solidarity with Watson.
“My life hasn’t really changed – at the moment things are pretty normal, apart from people giving such great support in response to the letter. Emma hasn’t responded, she doesn’t have to. I didn’t write it for attention, I just wanted people to know I how I felt.”
This is exactly the kind of attitudes we should be instilling in today’s boys. And seeing in tomorrow’s men. Bravo Ed.
Here are some of the best Twitter responses to Ed’s letter:
Top Comments
How amazingly chuffed his parents must be :) We need so many more boys like this becoming the next generation of men.