Emma Watson named Feminist Celebrity of 2014. Ms. Foundation for Women announces top ten feminist celebrities of 2014. Today, the Ms. Foundation for Women names Emma Watson the Feminist Celebrity of 2014. Watson received the most votes in an online survey promoted by the Ms. Foundation, in partnership with Cosmopolitan.com.
The top ten of the survey:
1. Emma Watson
2. Laverne Cox
3. Rachel Maddow
4. Beyoncé
5. Cher
6. Amy Poehler
7. Tina Fey
8. Meryl Streep
9. Mindy Kaling
10. Ann Curry
“We celebrate all feminists every day, but today we’re giving a hat tip to celebrities who are helping to promote women’s equality,” said President and CEO Teresa Younger. “Every celebrity on the list has either embraced the term ‘feminist,’ spoken out for women’s equal rights or battled against sexist oppression.”
In September, Emma Watson gave an impassioned speech, at the United Nations headquarters, challenging men and boys to be advocates for women’s and girls’ equality. While that speech has received a lot of attention, it is only one of many times when Watson has used her celebrity to speak out against sexism. From calling out sexist politicians to pointing out the gender politics of the celebrity nude photo hack, she has consistently taken a stand for equality.
The Ms. Foundation launched the survey to highlight the resurgence of support for the word ‘feminist.’ Just last month, TIME magazine found itself embroiled in controversy when it included the word on its survey of words to ban. The backlash from feminists was so overwhelming that TIME removed the word from its survey and apologized for the error.
“Celebrities who embrace feminism or speak out for women’s equality are helping to spread the word and build support for women’s rights,” Younger said. “With this survey, we’re expanding the conversation about women’s empowerment to even more people.”
For 40 years, the Ms. Foundation for Women has secured women’s rights and freedoms with a special commitment to building the power of low-income, immigrant and women of color. The foundation invests funds, time, expertise and training in nearly 100 trailblazing organizations nationwide.
