Every time feminism is brought up, I think, there are an innumerable amount of reasons why I am a feminist. Feminism is so often misunderstood, and I aim to combat that. If you understand what feminism means, I truly don't know of a logical reason to be against it. But I will show what I mean when I say, "I am a feminist." Here are 100 reasons why.

I am a feminist because...

1. I believe in the social equality of the sexes.

2. I believe in the economic equality of the sexes.

3. I believe in the political equality of the sexes.

4. I believe that women are capable of anything and everything.

5. Even in the United States, women are paid less than men.

6. Women in the United States have had the right to vote for less than a century--97 years to be exact--only about 40% of the time the US has been its own country.

7. I recognize that issues involving women and gender overlap with other social issues, such as racism, homophobia, ableism, and that feminism must be intersectional.

8. Girls around the world are denied an education.

9. Women make the choice to publish their works under their initials rather than their full names because they will be more likely to be read.

10. I believe that women should be taken seriously no matter what they wear.

11. I believe that men should be taken seriously no matter what they wear.

12. I believe that trans and non-binary people should be taken seriously no matter what they wear.

13. I believe that people's preferred pronouns should be respected and used.

14. When someone says to do something "like a girl," it is delivered and perceived as to not do something well.

15. Women are pressured to get married and have children more than men are.

16. Men who are sexually active are praised, while women who are sexually active are criticized.

17. Women are continuously misdiagnosed or not diagnosed by doctors who do not take their concerns seriously.

18. Transgender women of color are at high risk to be victims of violence.

19. Women are criticized whether or not they choose to wear makeup.

20. Men who wear makeup are criticized for it.

21. Muslim women should be able to choose to wear garments such as a hijab without being told that they are being oppressed.

22. Bisexual women are often assumed "to really be straight" and "just experimenting."

23. Asian women are fetishized, and stereotyped as "submissive" and "exotic."

24. Women are underrepresented in the United States government.

25. Women are underrepresented in TV, movies, etc.

26. The Bechdel Test is so difficult for movies to pass.

27. The Bechdel Test is something that has to exist.

28. The phrase "can I get some boys over here to lift this?" is used.

29. Women should be taken seriously no matter what professional field they choose to go into.

30. There are self-defense classes specifically for women, meaning that there is a common, prevalent need in the world for self-defense classes specifically for women to exist.

31. Donald Trump is the President-Elect of the United States.

32. The hashtag "repealthe19th" happened.

33. Women had the right to vote in Spain, and then it and other legal and civil rights were taken from them during the Franco dictatorship, to be restored to them later in the transition back to democracy.

34. Marital/spousal rape was legal in the United States until the 1970s-90s, as states slowly recognized it as a crime, and it finally became a crime officially in all 50 states in 1993.

35. Women can be forced into marriages.

36. Girls are forced into marriages.

37. When the movie Hidden Figures came out in theatres, it was the first most people (myself included) had heard of Katherine Goble Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughn, and the teams of African-American women who were "human computers," and were vital to America's role in the space race and the successful orbit of John Glenn.

38. Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban for pursuing her education, and for standing up, speaking out, and working for girls' right to an education.

39. Suffragists in the United States were jailed, went on hunger strikes, and were force-fed because of it.

40. Boys are taught that crying and being emotional are signs of weakness.

41. Of how Katherine Goble Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughn, and other African-American women working for NASA in the '50s and '60s were discriminated against because of their gender and race.

42. This anonymous quote holds truth: "Some of the greatest minds in history have been dismissed because they were covered in curls and bows."

43. Of the amount of times Hillary Clinton's husband was brought up in debates and in conversation about the 2016 Presidential Election.

44. The media sexualizes underage celebrities.

45. People tell rape jokes.

46. In the public high school from which I graduated, I took honors and AP English classes. In my four years (five literature-based classes) there, I read 32 novels/plays. Four of them had a female protagonist. Each of these four were either American or British.

47. Out of these 32 fictional works read in high school, plus 2 nonfiction works for a total of 34, 3 of them were authored by women.

48. Out of these 34 works read, only one of them was authored by a woman of color. (It was A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.)

49. The phrases "be a man" or "man up" are used.

50. The phrase "boys will be boys" is used.

51. 1 in 6 women will have been the victim of attempted, or completed rape in their lifetime, according to RAINN.

52. Male rape victims often don't report for fear of not being believed, and of the stigma surrounding being a male rape victim.

53. Brock Turner was sentenced to only six months in prison after being convicted for felony sexual assault.

54. Brock Turner was then let out of prison after only three months.

55. Female celebrities generally get asked about outfits, looks, and fashion more than their male co-stars, while the male celebrities are immediately asked more about their work.

56. Female celebrities who show more skin or publish more suggestive photos get criticized more than male celebrities do for doing the same thing.

57. Female singers are criticized more than their male colleagues for writing a lot of breakup or romance songs.

58. It is more difficult for women and girls to find longer shorts in stores.

59. Halloween costumes for women and girls (that portray the same character/person as the men's version of the costumes do) are sexualized or made "girly."

60. Human trafficking and sex slavery still exist.

61. While I have always felt comfortable and happy with the gender assigned to me at birth, I know that that has not been the case for many others, and I want them to be respected and valued just as cisgender people are.

62. I want people to be respected and valued no matter who they are attracted to or who they love.

63. "Feminism" is treated like a dirty word, when in reality it means equal rights between the sexes.

64. The concept of "meninism" was created as a response to feminism, but is based off of a misunderstanding of feminism's true meaning.

65. Misunderstandings of feminism are so common, and I want to help educate about what it truly means.

66. Women with disabilities (and anyone with disabilities for that matter) are rarely represented in TV, movies, plays, etc.

67. Women are often likely to be told that they are overreacting when they share concerns instead of being taken seriously.

68. Women deserve respect no matter what their body type.

69. Beauty standards are impossible to live up to on their own, but many magazines and media outlets make things even more difficult by photo-shopping models--hence, "the girl in that magazine doesn't even look like the girl in that magazine."

70. Men should be taken seriously no matter what professional field they go into.

71. People are often impressed with dads who are responsible parents, rather than this being something that is seen as normal.

72. Dads are often the butt of jokes when it comes to capable parenting, such as in cleaning commercials.

73. Katie Ledecky was constantly compared to men, especially Michael Phelps, during her successful, record-breaking time at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

74. Throughout history, men have discussed where a woman's "place" is.

75. Throughout history, and now, men have spoken for women, made laws about them, and withheld rights from them.

76. The US military and other workplaces have had bans on certain hairstyles, particularly those popular among African-American women.

77. Catcalling happens, and is common.

78. Women are taught tips on getting men to leave them alone, as if saying "no" is not enough.

79. The fact that women in the US military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed in action.

80. It is not uncommon for women in the military who report their sexual harassment or assault there to be given discharge.

81. People think that men can't be feminists.

82. Women deserve respect whether or not they choose to shave.

83. When it comes to weight-loss, skin and hair care, etc., parts of a woman's body are referred to as "problem areas."

84. I believe that it should be just as acceptable for a woman to never want children as it is for her to have always known that she wants children someday.

85. I know that there is nothing "anti-feminist" about the kind of woman someone is, because feminism is there to empower all women. (Meaning, wearing a short skirt doesn't make you less of a feminist, neither does wearing a tux.)

86. Most Americans, myself included, had no idea of the efforts and impact made by Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton to better the country in numerous ways (raising funds for the Washington monument, preserving Alexander Hamilton's legacy, establishing the first private orphanage in New York City) until the musical Hamilton came out.

87. Many beauty tips surround the idea of what guys want, what men are looking for, or what makes a woman attractive to the opposite sex.

88. People often fail to recognize that many women wear makeup because they like it, and tend to jump to comments such as, "you don't need makeup to be pretty!"

89. Sorority women are stereotyped as air-heads, when they are college students who have GPA requirements they must meet to be a part of their organization, and who balance academics with sorority events that often involve philanthropy and giving back to their community.

90. There is no "typical girl."

91. Most Disney princesses aren't actually "saved" by a man, or even very reliant on one, as people stereotype them to be.

92. Globally, more women working means a better economy.

93. Not only do women and girls deserve the right to an education, but their education will positively impact the world around them (economically, in terms of job growth, service careers, helping others, more diversity.)

94. Most of the people we learn about in school, in almost every subject (math, science, social studies/history, language arts/English, music, art), are men.

95. Too many women tear each other down instead building each other up and accepting each other, helping us all to move upward.

96. Many school sex education classes focus only on abstinence, rather than safe sex, focus on girls' having the responsibility of bringing up a baby as opposed to a shared responsibility, and fail to teach safe sex involving LGBTQ+ people.

97. Some people think that boys and girls or men and women cannot be friends; if they are close, then the attraction must be romantic.

98. Women's professional sports do not get the coverage nor have the popularity that men's do.

99. Certain skill sets such as knowing how to work mechanics or being able to bake the perfect desserts are not gender-exclusive, nor should they be treated as such.

100. I understand the definition of feminism and what it means not only for me, but for the world around me.