(CNN) -- A 15-year-old British schoolboy has struck a chord with his eloquent response to actress Emma Watson's United Nations speech encouraging men to join in the fight for gender equality. Ed Holtom's letter, published in the Sunday Telegraph, was praised on social media for demonstrating an understanding of gender issues that many adults today don't fully comprehend. "If we want equality, it will take more effort than paying women the same as men, or giving women equal opportunities," he wrote in his letter supporting Watson. "We must stop pressuring each other to fit stereotypes which more often than not leaves us feeling repressed and unable to express ourselves. We must not let gender define us."
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Schoolboy in UK writes letter defending Emma Watson's speech at the UN
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Letter goes viral after being published in London newspaper
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Ed Holtom: "We're lucky to live in a Western world where women can speak out"
Both men and women should feel free to be strong," Watson told the @placeholder.