In her speech to the United Nations last week, actress and U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson extended an invitation to all men, asking them to actively join in on the gender equality conversation.

Watson expressed in her speech that feminism is all too often misconstrued as man hating. She argued for an all-encompassing title for gender equality so men can feel welcomed to join the movement. But, title changed or not, women must recognize that men are discriminated against in order for both sexes to join the fight.

The HeForShe website explains that the organization wants a “solidarity movement for gender equality,” showing images of world leaders like President Barack Obama and celebrities like Matt Damon speaking on the topic of feminism. But when clicking to take action the website says, “I commit to take action against all forms of violence and discrimination faced by women and girls.”

Only including one gender in this agreement is blatantly ignoring exactly what the problem is, which is discrimination and violence. In her speech, Watson asked, “How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?” Watson formally invited men to participate in the conversation, but the campaign she stands behind excludes them from speaking up on their own discrimination.

Men are discriminated specifically when it comes to fatherhood.  Paternal leave is laughed at and marginalized and the media still portrays fathers as lost, clueless, big kids.

If a father chooses to stay at home, he is generally considered lazy and unable to find a job. In cartoons like “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons”, in which characters Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson are seen as fumbling fathers who have barely matured past their children, there are unfair stereotypes that belittle fathers.

In March of 2012, Huggies diapers failed miserably with an advertisement showing diapers were ‘dad proof.’ Fathers signed a petition and adweek.com deplored the brand for poor wording, creating enough buzz for Huggies to pull its ads and rework the campaign.

Sticking to these gender-based stereotypes hurts men and women.  While women are often portrayed as housewives, men are often seen as workaholic, clueless fathers. With these stereotypes, no one is winning.

Until women recognize that men are discriminated against too, gender equality cannot be fought from both sides.  With men’s discrimination being fought, women’s discrimination will also improve,  as  they are connected.

When men can stay home with the kids more often without judgment, women can stay at work longer too. This equilibrium is important for children.

When children see both parents equally, they will view parenthood as a partnership and it can shape how the future generations see — or better yet don’t see — gender roles.

Watson and HeForShe have the right ideas in place, but must work harder to include men in the conversation. Talking at men and only telling them to listen puts this movement in a stalemate. HeForShe must allow men to openly participate and speak up for discrimination that men feel on a daily basis. The campaign allows men to speak up for the women in their lives, which is notable, but who is there to speak up for the men?

Encouraging men to stand up and fight for women is vital, but women must also recognize we cannot allow our brothers, fathers and husbands to be discriminated against. This fight is two-sided. Women must fight for men just as women expect men to fight for women.

Julia Smith is a junior newspaper and online journalism and sociology dual major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @jcsmith711.

Published on September 30, 2014 at 12:29 am