Feminist.

Say this word and men and women alike run for the hills across America. Some will ask if you burn bras or desire to see the entire male race decimated.

Say the words, "I'm a feminist," and you'll lose about three friends (don't ask me how I came up with this number; I'm just estimating). Or you'll have someone ask if you want to be put in the draft, which is often their reason for not supporting feminism. But being a Christian Feminist is much more than the "fem-nazi" or "modern feminist" ideals you hear about in the media.

Feminism, put very simply, is five words: "gender equality and female empowerment". Feminism is not the desire to eliminate the male race or make the men pay for their "wrongdoings to our gender." It's more about seeking equality for the two genders.

For example: We want to bridge the wage gap, make sexual harassment and cat-calling virtually extinct, raise women to higher positions in politics and corporate areas and educate people about the inequalities between the genders. Those are just a few of our specific agendas. Are they lofty goals? Yes. But we can do anything we put our minds to. Now, I'm not one to force feminism on you; that's not my goal. My goal is to try to educate people about a topic that is mostly shrouded in mystery and a horrible stigma.

This is a very broad overview of feminism. But when you throw a Christian perspective into it and pronounce yourself as a feminist in front of people who are not really sure what feminism is... it gets very messy.

But should it?

According to Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." I don't think I need to explain this one to you, it's really quite plain. But, just in case you don't believe me, I'll give you another verse that supports the above description of feminism.

1 Corinthians 11:22: "For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God." Let's take it a step further:

Mary, Lydia (my namesake), Mary Magdalene, Martha, Deborah, Jael. All women who had huge roles in the Bible! Without some of these women, we wouldn't have the gospel in some regions. Sure, it could've happened a different way, but God chose these women to call on the disciples so they could spread the Word of God.

God created both man and woman in his own image. Bothman and woman. Brothers in Christ, being a "Christian feminist" is not a bad thing. What it means, to many women, is that you don't see us as the "weaker sex", but as equals spiritually and in church politics. Sisters in Christ, we will not lose our feminine qualities by supporting equality for both of the sexes. I encourage both groups to be brave and take a step out of your comfort zone. Stimulate conversations about this topic so that we may all be more educated and come to a better understanding of what it means to be a feminist.

To all of my Christian feminists out there, take a look at 1 Timothy 6:12. I'm right behind you all, cheering for change. Personally, if feminism means that I have to sign up for the draft, so be it. If that's what it takes to be seen as an equal, I'm more than O.K. with that.

But what's not O.K. is this version of modern feminism that terrorizes women for not being so-called "feminists". We, as females, need to bring each other up regardless, feminist or not. On the other hand, for those who wants to tear feminists down, I encourage you to not do that either. That's not O.K.

But I'm not here to tell you what to do. You're an independent, free thinking individual and you can do whatever you like. I'm just here to educate.