Emilia Clarke

My life has been shaped by a true sense of equality; it was never an

overt "for crying out loud Emilia is just as capable as her brother!" it
was simply etched into every action, choice, and behaviour of my
family.
It was a recognised matter of fact that I, as a woman, was no different
to my brother. Just as my mum was no different from my father in
their careers, therefore I was raised in an equal earning, equally
managed household that showed me anything a man could do, a
woman could and should do too.
So I grew up with a voice, but it was not a shared voice of a generation,
and it was only much later I realised what an incredible, feminist, start
to life I had been given.
In the last few months we have all witnessed a major shift in the way
women are collectively making their voices heard. The Women's March
on 21 January gathered more than five million people throughout the
world - giving us all the lead to see what we can do to make this a
change that's here to stay.
Now I don't know about you, but there are days where I feel like a
guilty feminist. What am I actually doing every day to stand up for
women's rights? My personal experiences, and my understanding of
the bigger issues of inequality, aren't enough. What can I take part in,
against hate and oppression, to ensure that the women's movement
continues, and strengthens and grows?
And so guest editing the All Women Everywhere edition of The
Huffington Post UK is not a task I take lightly.
As my best friend would put it, I am a girl-boss, and I am in an industry
where if I speak out against inequality I have a platform, and might be
lucky enough to have a chance of being heard. The roles I've played
have given me an insight into what it feels like to be a woman who
stands up to inequality and hate, and stands out as a feminist.
That aside, it hasn't stopped me from walking away from situations and
people who have assumed I am weak because I'm a woman; it has
forced me to stand by my actions and be ok with the consequences.
Do I get treated equally at work? Not always. Does every woman? No,
and the statistics back that up. Do I get asked questions at press
junkets by men and women alike, specifically because they will get
headline grabbing responses coming from a young woman? Yes.
If you've watched Game of Thrones then, spoiler, you will have seen me
in the nude. There are plenty of ways in which people want me to
respond to questions about this fact. And plenty of reasons why I do
not feel the need to justify myself.
I believe we all have the opportunity to stand up as women in our
ordinary everyday lives. I believe that we all have the power to replace
hate with justice, open-heartedness and kindness.
This doesn't have to be a seismic change that we all have to learn. I
believe we, as humans, (gender aside for a moment) have the
opportunity to combat hate because of the way we behave towards one
another. Not just during seminal moments, but during our everyday,
ordinary ones too.
I believe we can start with kindness.
Kindness. I know, It's a pretty un-cool word isn't it? But its results are
cool. They are immediate and they are real. One act of kindness can
take your day from bearable to enjoyable in a heartbeat. Because being
kind is showing someone that they are seen and heard, and that they
do indeed matter. And that's sexy.
For example, having the confidence to look someone in the eye, and
speak to them as an equal, regardless of their gender, race or sexuality -
that is kind. It is a small gesture towards showing that person that they
are acknowledged. Imagine, just for a moment, that we all strive to be
kinder to one another on a small, day by day, sincere level, wouldn't
that actually feel really incredible?
I believe that one woman's success, is every woman's gain. I believe
that it is every woman's choice to be able to live her life how she sees
fit... that all of us are girl-bosses and the power of the girl-boss is that
we care a bit more about those around us.
Little small acts of kindness can add up to a big movement. On this
International Women's Day I am not proposing a big idea, I will leave
that to the leaders and politicians; instead I propose that each and
every one of us start to re-energise our kindness gene, give it power and
share it with each other, with our sisters and brothers.
As I read recently, kindness is sexy, it's good for us, it makes us feel
happy and valued. Positive action starts with small individual deeds
that accumulate over time and become a movement... a movement
toward a more equal society where kindness anchors our feet to the
ground while giving us the momentum to keep chipping away together.
With my voice, I hope the feminist mind set my family instilled in me
becomes the new normal, and boys and girls are raised to know they
are equal.