Entertainment

Emma Watson & Bell Hooks Are Feminist Goals

by Jordana Lipsitz

Emma Watson seems like one of the coolest, most thoughtful celebrities to have as a BFF, and the equally awesome author and activist bell hooks seems to be one of the few people lucky enough to know what it's like to be Watson's real-life pal. To honor the icon for her birthday on Sunday, Sept. 25, Watson posted a photo with bell hooks that's just the latest example of the duo's sweet, envy-inducing friendship. I mean, seriously — when you combine those two together, you get one of the coolest best friend duos the universe has ever seen.

For those unfamiliar with the friendship, here's how it goes. Watson, as we all know, is not only a talented actor, but an activist and speaker who has become a goodwill ambassador for UN Women and the leader of her own feminist book club. Meanwhile, bell hooks is, as many know, a feminist activist who has penned more than 30 books and articles about various social issues over the course of her career. She opened up a center called the bell hooks Institute, which according to the company website, works to "bring together academics with local community members to study, learn and engage in critical dialogue."

It makes total sense that Watson and hooks would be pals, as shown by the actor's sweet birthday message to her famous pal.

The two icons were first spotted exchanging words back in December 2015, when hooks called Watson a "new comrade" in a tweet from the bell hooks Institute.

A little later, in Paper Mag's "Girl Crush" series, in which "women with mutual admiration for one another get together for conversations that offer illuminating looks into what it's like to be a woman right now," hooks and Watson had a wonderful discussion about their combined interests and love of each other's work. In the interview, it's revealed that bomen care a great deal about making sure feminism is an issue everyone is aware of — in fact hooks even made her book, Feminism is for Everybody, "easy-to-read" so the ideas would be accessible for all readers. Both women clearly place a high priority on reading. In the interview, Watson talked about her book club and said, "I know that you [bell hooks] read a book a day. My own personal task is to read a book a week, and also to read a book a month as part of my book club." Both women truly seem to believe that knowledge is power.

It is wonderful to see women "girl crushing" on each other and having discussions about the hard-hitting issues. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall on the hooks-sponsored Kentucky tourism trip Watson apparently took.

Images: EmWatson/Twitter, bellhooksinst/Twitter, Heini_Sinkko/Twitter