Systemic Functional Linguistics

Interpersonal Meaning of Emma Watson’s Speech

by

Millatuz Zulfa
Siti Nurhidayah
Anjar Pangestu
(Rombel 1)
 Emma Watson’s Speech

Today we are launching a campaign called for He For She. I am reaching out to you because
we need your help. We want to end gender inequality, and to do this, we need everyone
involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN. We want to try to mobilize as many
men and boys as possible to be advocates for change. And, we don’t just want to talk about it.
We want to try and make sure that it’s tangible.

I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women six months ago. And, the more I
spoke about feminism, the more I realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often
become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this
has to stop. For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should
have equa rights and opportunities. It is the theory of political, economic and social equality
of the sexes.

I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago. When I was 8, I was
confused for being called bossy because I wanted to direct the plays that we would put on for
our parents, but the boys were not. When at 14, I started to be sexualized by certain elements
of the media. When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of sports teams because they
didn’t want to appear muscly. When at 18, my male friends were unable to express their
feelings. I decided that I was a feminist, and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent
research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Women are choosing
not to identify as feminists. Apparently, I’m among the ranks of women whose expressions
are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men. Unattractive, even. Why has
the world become such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain, and I think it is right I am
paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make
decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the
policies and decisions that will affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the
same respect as men. But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all
women can expect to see these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they achieved
gender equality.

These rights, I consider to be human rights, but I am one of the lucky ones.
My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn’t love me less because I was born a
daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn't assume that I
would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These influences were the
gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today. They may not know it, but they
are the inadvertent feminists that are changing the world today. We need more of those.
And if you still hate the word, it is not the word that is important. It’s the idea and the
ambition behind it, because not all women have received the same rights I have. In fact,
statistically, very few have. In 1997, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about
women’s rights. Sadly, many of the things that she wanted to change are still true today. But
what stood out for me the most was that less than thirty percent of the audience were male.
How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to
participate in the conversation? Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your
formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue, too. Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s
role as a parent being valued less by society, despite my need of his presence as a child, as
much as my mother’s. I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for
help for fear it would make them less of a man. In fact, in the UK, suicide is the biggest killer
of men between 20 to 49, eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve
seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success.
Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either.

We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes, but I can see that
they are, and that when they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence.
If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be
submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled.
Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free
to be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, instead of two sets of
opposing ideals. If we stop defining each other by what we are not, and start defining
ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer, and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about
freedom. I want men to take up this mantle so that their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be
free from prejudice, but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human
too, reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned, and in doing so, be a more true and
complete version of themselves.

You might be thinking, “Who is this Harry Potter girl, and what is she doing speaking at the
UN?” And, it’s a really good question. I’ve been asking myself the same thing.
All I know is that I care about this problem, and I want to make it better. And, having seen
what I’ve seen, and given the chance, I feel it is my responsibility to say something.
Statesman Edmund Burke said, “All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for
good men and women to do nothing.” In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments
of doubt, I told myself firmly, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” If you have similar
doubts when opportunities are presented to you, I hope those words will be helpful. Because
the reality is that if we do nothing, it will take seventy-five years, or for me to be nearly 100,
before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work. 15.5 million girls
will be married in the next 16 years as children. And at current rates, it won't be until 2086
before all rural African girls can have a secondaryeducation. If you believe in equality, you
might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier, and for this, I applaud you.
We are struggling for a uniting word, but the good news is, we have a uniting movement. It is
called HeForShe. I invite you to step forward, to be seen and to ask yourself, “If not me,
who? If not now, when?”

Thank you very, very much.

1. MOOD

There are several mood types found in Emma Watson’s speech. The details are shown
in the table below.

Types Sentences Percentage

1. Declarative 67 91%
2. Interogative 7 9%
3. Imperative 0 0%
Total 74 100%

The dominant sentences that are found in Emma’s speech are declarative sentences
that consist of stating, informing, asserting, suggesting, and complimenting.

For example:
I am reaching you because we need your help
out to
S F P Complement Subject Finite Complement
Mood Residue Mood Residue
 I started questioning genre-based a long time ago
assumptions
Subject Finite Predicator Complement Circ. of time
Mood Residue

Those sentences above demand audience whether men or women to increase the
awareness about the gender equality and to take part as an agent of change so that
everybody can have an equal opportunity to get their rights.

The other types that found in Emma’s speech is interogative in the form of question
such as the following example.

If not me, who? If not now, when?

How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel
welcome to participate in the conversation?

Those sentences function to make people concious about gender equality, not only for
women, but also for men. The two sentences above also demand services from the
addressees to participate in creating gender equality.

2. MODALITY

There are 37 modal verbals found in Emma Watson’ speech. The most frequently
used is can for 10 times, want for 8 times, will 6 times and would 4 times.

For example:

We can all be freer

Subject Finite Complement Predicator Complement
Mood Residue

We want to end gender equality

Subject Finite Predicator Complement
Mood Residue
 Those sentences indicate that Emma Watson has a strong desire to take action against
gender inequality. Those also indicate that Emma Watson tries to encourage,
motivate, and ensure that everybody can be part of the realization of gender equality.

3. PRONOUN

The followings are kinds of pronoun found in Emma Watson’s speech and the number
of each.

Pronoun Times Proportion

I 39 28%
You 15 11%
They 7 5%
We 25 18%
He 1 1%
She 6 4%
It 16 12%
Our 1 1%
My 18 13%
Myself 1 1%
Their 3 2%
Your 4 3%
Yourself 1 1%
Total 137 100%

Generally, the personal pronoun that used in Emma’s speech is I and We that refer to
the speaker that she is also part of the listener. The second pronoun you refers to the
listener or audience. They refers to the people who againts gender equality or out of
the part of this speech. My refer to the experience stories of the speaker and pronoun it
refer to the issue.
For example:

I am reaching you because we need your help

out to
S F P Complement Subject Finite Complement
Mood Residue Mood Residue

We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender

stereotypes.
Mood Residue

The use of pronoun you emphasizes that the audiences are important for Emma
Watson to together fight against gender inequality. While the use of pronoun we, it
indicates the Emma Watson is also part of the audience. It narrows the space between
the audiences and her.