As we’ve all come to know and laugh at, third-wave feminism is rife with glaring inconsistencies and double standards. One of the many tricky questions still tripping up feminists today is if showing your boobs is empowering or demeaning.
According to feminist darling Emma Watson, not all breasts are equal. Her breasts are empowering, whereas Beyoncé’s are demeaning and play into the sexualized male gaze.
Let me explain.
Watson pushed back on the idea that exposing the bottom half of her breasts in a recent Vanity Fair cover shoot is somehow contradictory or harmful to feminism (image below). The Beauty and the Beast star explained that exposing her breasts was empowering because it was her “choice” to show off the girls.
“It just always reveals to me how many misconceptions and what a misunderstanding there is of what feminism is,” said Watson, refuting the attacks on her photo shoot.
“Feminism is about giving women choice,” she continued. “Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality.”
This take that feminism is all about “choice” is fine, or at least coherent. But then comes the consistent inconsistency of feminism: Watson has previously smacked Beyoncé for showing off her own goodies and owning her sexuality.
As noted by The Telegraph, Watson felt “conflicted” with Queen Beyoncé’s take on feminism back in 2013, particularly her choice to be what the left calls sex-positive.
“I felt very conflicted,” said Watson, “I felt [Beyoncé’s] message felt very conflicted in the sense that on the one hand she is putting herself in a category of a feminist, but then the camera, it felt very male, such a male voyeuristic experience of her.”
The actress is essentially condemning the pop star for owning her sexuality, although Watson clearly feels it’s perfectly fine for her to do so by posing half-nude.
Apparently, owning your own sexuality and showing your boobs is Good Feminism when you’re Emma Watson and Bad Feminism when you’re Beyoncé.
The tricky rules of feminism live on!