I don’t like talking about feminism. I believe in feminism and everything it has done for women, but I often stay silent. I’m scared people won’t like me just based on preconceived notions of what feminism means. People don’t like feminists. I see the boys roll their eyes and walk away. I see girls laugh and write me off as a crazy radical. People picture an angry fat woman with armpit hair and a pitchfork, and feminists are just women looking to blame men for all their problems! After all, who doesn’t just crave oppression?

This shouldn’t be how the population perceives feminism. Feminism is about equality. At this point, feminism needs to rename itself to Egalitarianism or something that reinforces that women don’t want to enslave men and drink their tears. Feminism isn’t anti-men, it’s anti-discrimination.

Feminists have done so much for women. Women have only had the right to vote in the United States since 1920, that’s less than a hundred years. The original feminist conventions were inspired by women that met at the World Anti-Slavery convention. These Christian women fought racism as well as sexism and believed that everyone should have rights. I hate to see all those women who spent years of picketing, hunger strikes, imprisonment, and fighting for equality to have their cause dragged through the mud based on today’s perception of feminism.

Here’s why we still need feminism:

It’s a common insult to say “you fight like a girl” or “stop acting like a little girl.” The expression is proof that society sees women as being weak and whiny, even though women can be strong and there are thousands of awesome female athletes that could kick any man's butt.

There's the common belief that girls are just shallow and stupid and that girls aren't funny. Or that "on average" girls are just dumber than boys, all of which demonstrate sexism.

Why do so many girls align themselves with the “I’m not like other girls” mentality of hating pink and despising RomComs and “getting along better with guys”? One of the reasons given for disliking girls is because “they’re petty and shallow.” Maybe we need to fix that. We need to stop tearing each other down.

We should love women and female companionship. Fellow females can relate to your heartbreaks and force feed you ice cream. They’ll gorge themselves on popcorn while you watch "Magic Mike." They’ll overanalyze texts with you and make up silly dances and jam to 3OH!3. There’s nothing wrong with being a girl and being proud of it.

This woman does not understand what feminism is.

Feminists don’t hate guys. I LOVE GUYS. They’re hilarious and silly and cute. I actually went to the office when I was younger because I busted my head open while walking through a closed door. Why? Because I was busy daydreaming about boys. I once wrote in my middle school diary that I wanted “two hot, deep guys” because one was simply not enough! Throughout my life I’ve had many awesome guy friends, although they’ve rarely been willing to watch Justin Bieber’s concert movie or cry with me during "The Notebook."

I don’t think we should hate men because there are a few bad eggs that hurt women. However, one in three women will be sexually assaulted inher lifetime. That statistic is terrifying and real, but I don’t think we should fear or hate men. We should instead look for ways to prevent sexual assault that don’t focus on women as victims, and hold attackers accountable for their actions.

We should encourage victims of abuse—both male and female—to speak out and report abuse. We shouldn’t blame or ostracize victims and we should never, ever say that “they were asking for it” because of the way they dressed or because they were drinking.

Every girl has been sexually harassed in some way. My first time at a club resulted in me being groped and had my head shoved down and my butt forced against a stranger’s groin. I felt degraded and scared. What’s scarier than that is the fact that it no longer bothers me. It has become so commonplace and normal that nobody bats an eye and nobody reprimands these creeps for forcing their hands down a girl’s pants in public. The common advice is: if you don’t want to get molested, don’t go to the bar.

At my school’s assembly, campus police urged girls not to run at night or go out alone. Logical, right? There was also a popular forwarded email that circulated my family with tips like “enter your car from the passenger side,” “carry a rape whistle or pepper spray at all times,” and “avoid dressing in a way that would draw attention.” I think those tips are valid, but I also think they’re sad. Why do we have to teach our daughters to fear the world? Let's instead make the world safer.

Or why is it amusing and encouraged for men to intimidate and threaten their daughter’s dates? Perhaps we should teach sons to keep their hands to themselves and stop saying that “LOL! Boys will be boys” when they sneak peeks under girls’ skirts or laugh at exposed bra straps.

There's also the ever-present pressure for girls to reach physical perfection. The media is partly responsible for the awful self-esteem problems that are emerging in children. While boys are pressured to be good at sports, girls are hit with double that pressure to be pretty. If you’re pretty, everyone will like you. Simple.

Every advertisement and movie and magazine has beautiful women. Popular songs talk about girls’ physical appearances (lots of mentions of booty, which I also don’t have). I’m not immune to it. I buy it and it’s not even on sale. There was my bombshell bra obsession. Then the times I’ve ogled girls more than guys at the beach…wishing I had their perfect bikini bods. I attempted dieting then hated myself when I inevitably ended up watching "The Bachelorette" while shoveling Nutella from the jar. Objectification of women is obvious. Even if we're successful in every way, the first thing people see is whether or not you are pretty.

What’s more important than sexism in society is equality in basic human rights. Everyone says that feminism isn’t needed because women can own property and vote and seek various professions--and we have feminists to thank. But there’s still inequality in the US.

Women are underrepresented in politics. Women make up less than 20 percent of Congress while making up around 50 to 51 percent of the world. Additionally, women are often thought of as "unfit leaders."

Women are not as highly concentrated in the math, science, and engineering fields. Women have trouble obtaining high level positions in business--only four percent of CEOs are women. Women applicants are less likely to be hired than equally qualified males. And there’s the wage gap: women are still paid less than men for the same jobs.

The wage gap exists, and women are less likely to be hired because they are considered "unfit for men's jobs."

Feminism isn’t taking away men’s rights. It’s about making women feel safe instead of feeling objectified or pressured. That’s why it makes me sad when people believe that we’re just looking for a reason to be oppressed or trying to punish men because they have gender differences. Guys will come up with reasons why they’re at a disadvantage, like how they have to pay for dates, or how things aren’t just handed to them because they’re pretty. I just want to ask them how those things are equivalent to making only 77 cents on every man's dollar or being groped by strangers. Sexism exists and something must be done.

What can we do?

First of all, let's change the public's opinion of feminism. Feminism is about ending discrimination. Girls should be able to like motherhood and cooking. She should also be allowed to like sports and mud-riding. Boys should be allowed to like dolls and musical theatre and fashion without being called gay, but free of discrimination if he is. There should be tolerance for everyone.

Let's make feminism a positive force that supports women and isn't angry. Let's stop making sexist jokes and trivializing topics like harassment and rape. Let's value women for their minds and opinions and look at more than surface beauty. Let's stop making comments about a girl's body and stop calling women "whores" or "c****s." And finally, let's do everything in our power to support positive change for women.