Hollywood is full of high expectations – particularly when it comes to relationships and age. However, society’s often unrealistic expectations of famous women, in particular, is something actress Emma Watson refuses to subscribe to.
In a recent interview with British Vogue, Watson admitted that while she is feeling “stressed and anxious” in the lead up to her 30th birthday, she’s content with her relationship status.
“I was like, ‘Why does everyone make a big fuss about turning 30? This is not a big deal,’” she said. “Cut to 29, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I feel so stressed and anxious.’”
“And I realised it’s because there is suddenly this bloody influx of subliminal messaging around,” she said. “If you have not built a home, if you do not have a husband, if you do not have a baby, and you are turning 30, and you’re not in some incredibly secure, stable place in your career, or you’re still figuring things out – there’s just this incredible amount of anxiety.”
Watson added that she doesn’t believe in “the whole ‘I’m happy single’ spiel.”
“It took me a long time, but I’m very happy (being single). I call it being self- partnered.”
Now, I know what you’re thinking – ‘self-partnered’ sounds like the same kind of mumbo jumbo Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow were peddling back in 2016 when they ‘consciously uncoupled.’
But Emma Watson makes a good point – instead of agreeing with the subliminal messaging and giving in to the pressure of having ‘it all,’ she’s intent on taking back control and making self-love a priority.
It’s not the first time Watson has put the best interests of women first, either. Over the course of her career, the Harry Potter actress has promoted education for girls, launched the HeForShe campaign which advocates gender equality, made many powerful speeches as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, and earlier this year, helped launch a legal advice line for people who has suffered sexual harassment at work.
Emma Watson is also a proud feminist. When she was accused of hypocrisy in 2017 for a photo published in Vanity Fair in which her breasts were partially visible, she said that feminism “is not a stick with which to beat other women.”
It’s a mantra that Emma Watson appears to live by, acknowledging that women should support other women, whether they are happily married, shacked up or self-partnered.