“Any time that you can make someone who potentially might not feel as great about themselves as they should, feel better about themselves, I think that’s always a positive thing.”

Harry Styles is not only an advocate for love, compassion, and kindness – he’s an advocate for the one thing this world desperately needs more of; equality.  Harry frequently uses his voice and platform to acknowledge the need, especially in this generation, for fairness, in all ways.  The way he cares, genuinely, for making sure everyone in this world is treated with respect is one of his best qualities – one way he’s done this is by showing how important feminism is, and how men can be feminists, too.

Feminism is, by definition, ‘the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men’ and while there are many women and women’s groups that fight for equal rights, it’s incredibly important when a man stands up and says women should not be treated differently because of their gender.  Harry’s fight for equality has been shown in many ways; from simply respecting the women in his life, to speaking out about fairness for women – he proves that an equal playing field for everyone is an important part of making the world a better place.

Since it’s International Women’s Day – we wanted to show you five ways that Harry has given his voice and his heart to push for women’s rights.  That heart of gold that he has never misses a beat now does it?

5. He Acknowledges The Power of Words

Harry knows that words can not only build up, but break a person down and he is always careful never to do the latter.  Harry spends his time on social media, at fan meetings, and at One Direction concerts reminding their fans that they’re beautiful, loved, and respected.  This spans both younger, older, male, and female fans.  The building blocks of feminism require all people to believe in the greater good, and basic human right, of equality.  With every positive encounter Harry has with the loving fans of One Direction, he lays the groundwork for a more respectful world, for everyone.

4. One Direction’s Music Helps To Empower Women

Harry was asked in an interview about songs like Girl Almighty and What Makes You Beautiful and if it was important to promote positive messages through One Direction’s music.  His response, in acknowledging that their lyrics promoted strong powerful women vs calling them names and objectifying their bodies shows that Harry takes his fans into consideration, even when it comes to song choice. “People in general, not just girls, but people in general who are younger are obviously extremely impressionable, and I do think it’s important.”  The lads of One Direction have a hand in writing their own music, but it’s clear that even in the few songs they don’t write themselves, they look for lyrics that empower fans, especially females.

3. He Respects His Mom

Harry was raised by a strong woman and as he’s aged he pays homage to her in every way that he can.  The most basic and important way?  Showing respect to her.  Anne raised Harry and Gemma as a single mom for some time and in doing so she let Harry know that ‘sometimes the king is a woman’.  You can tell the heart of a man by the way he treats his mother; and Harry treats Anne like she hung the moon, and it’s easy to see why.  The respect, love, and kindness he shows to Anne is the same love, kindness, and respect he greets everyone with.

2. He Protects Women’s Honor

This may seem like a no brainer, but there are multiple ways in which women are objectified daily, be it consciously or subconsciously.  Harry stands to make sure that himself, and the people around him, never take part in that behavior.  In multiple interviews Harry has mentioned things that objectify women and shown his distaste with them.  From movie characters, to comments made about women’s bodies and everything in between – Harry stands up for women and acknowledges how deep their worth is – it goes far beyond their body type.

  • #HeForShe Campaign

    • Harry’s simple but lovely show of camaraderie with Emma Watson and her He For She Campaign was something that had reach far beyond One Direction fans.  Emma gave a lovely speech about feminism as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Women and immediately launched the campaign.  Harry was happy to lend his voice to show the dire need for change when it comes to the fair treatment of women.  While fans of One Direction were long since aware of Harry’s compassion; this move made people who may not have previously known of his kindness.  It was lovely to see people recognize Harry for such an important gesture.

    Harry’s heart of gold truly knows no bounds and fans of Harry are lucky to look up to such an incredible person.  While he stands up for fair treatment of everyone, it’s most admirable to see a young man in such a position of fame stand up for women and notice their worth as equal.

    Tweet us at @CelebMix1D or @CelebMix and let us know how Harry has shown you that feminism is important.

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