Entertainment Weekly - February 24 - March 3, 2017

30 EW.COM FEBRUARY 24/MARCH 3, 2017

Ghostbusters were ruining their

childhoods. Why is it hard for them to

enjoy a female hero?

It’s something that they are not used to,

and they don’t like that. Anything that

deviates from the norm is difficult to

accept. I think if you’ve been used to

watching characters that look like, sound

like, think like you and then you see

someone [unexpected] up on the

screen, you go, “Well, that’s a girl,

she doesn’t look like me. I want it to

look like me so that I can project myself

onto the character.”

But female fans don’t seem to have

that problem.

Women are great about that. We see who-

ever is on screen and we recognize the

human qualities in the man that we relate

to and there’s not such a gap. But for

some reason there’s some kind of barrier

there where [men] are like, “I don’t want

to relate to a girl.” I think it is inherently

part of the problem, but I feel like, you

know, it is expanding.X

have to tell this story. Oh my God, if I

don’t do this, nothing else makes sense.”

“I must go to Pittsburgh!”

[Laughs] “I must go to Pittsburgh! I must

get funding for this movie.”Perksand

working with Steve made me feel that I

had something else to give and offer.

You’ve been active as a goodwill

ambassador for HeForShe, the United

Nations effort to bring men into the

feminist movement. What do you

think is the primary blind spot that

guys have about feminism?

I think the word is difficult because it

seems to inherently suggest a preferential

treatment of the feminine over the mas-

culine because it has the feminine in the

word. That’s really an oversight and a

misunderstanding. This isn’t “girls are

better than boys.” This is just: Everyone

deserves a fair chance.

This turns up in pop culture, too. You

hear some male fans complain about

the newStar Wars movies having

women as leads, or that the female

Go topeople.com/pen or download the PEN app to stream our interview with

Emma Watson, available now on the People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN)

EMMA’S

Must-Reads

PERSEPOLIS

BY MARJANE SATRAPI

“Satrapi’s deceptively simple,

almost whimsical drawings

belie the seriousness and rich

complexity of her story—but

it’s also very funny too.”

MOM&ME&MOM

BY MAYA ANGELOU

“This is perhaps the greatest

window into what shaped

Angelou as a writer and poet

and a fitting end to a lifetime

of amazing works.”

HOW TO BE A WOMAN

BY CAITLIN MORAN

“I read it on a plane from Lon-

don to New York and I laughed

out loud and cried so much I

think the whole of my cabin,

airline staff included, thought

I was losing my mind.”

THE ARGONAUTS

BY MAGGIE NELSON

“It might require a bit of work

butThe Argonauts rewards

us with an expansive way

of considering identity, care-

taking, and freedom.”

MY LIFE ON THE ROAD

BY GLORIA STEINEM

“Gloria emphasizes in all of her

work the need for solidarity

and community; we are ‘linked

not ranked.’ ”

In January 2016, Watson launched Our

Shared Shelf, an online book club dedicated

to feminist literature. She also has taken to

hiding free books in New York and London

subway stations for fans to find. Here, we

spotlight a few of her favorite picks, and what

she has said about them.BY DEVAN COGGAN

Music producer Matt Sullivan, director Bill Condon, and Watson on the set ofBeauty and the Beast

BEYOND

BEAUTIFUL

ON SET: LAURIE SPARHAM/DISNEY; WATSON: COURTESY OF EMMA WATSON