Feminism. People either roll their eyes and shake their heads at this word, or they express an upbeat and inspired sensation. Hopefully, you identify with the latter reaction, but this isn’t always the case. For some reason, there is a common misconception of what feminism actually stands for, and I am here to clear the air that was polluted by the patriarchy and toxins of the media.

It’s as simple as this: feminism is the belief that women deserve the same rights as men. It doesn’t mean that women are superior to anyone else in any way or that we hate men. This is completely false. Somehow, this has become what many believe feminism is, but it’s not. Feminism does not equal anti male and it is not a detrimental cancer.

I will admit, there are some extremists when it comes to this concept. Some women thrive on tearing down the opposite sex and get offended at the smallest things (just because someone assumed you like pink doesn’t mean you have hate men for the rest of your life). This system of oppressing those who have oppressed us is not what I stand behind. Whenever I dive back into history and imagine the social standards that women were (and still are) held to, I get upset because it’s ridiculous to discriminate based on someone having different genitalia.

And while we’re on the biology note, it’s a simple fact that men are physically built to be stronger than women: they have more muscle mass, stronger bones, are fertile into old age. But women are also stronger than men: they can actually push another human out of them during birth, they have longer life spans, have more white blood cells for immunity. It all depends on your definition of strength, but it doesn’t seem like there is a clear winner. There are a few differences, but we are the same. We both have complex brains and behaviors, we both have testosterone and estrogen flowing through us, we are made of the same substance. So why is it that women are continuously dubbed as the weaker sex?

In my freshman of college, my roommate and I were at the dining hall and befriended this group of girls. They all seemed very nice, until they mentioned that they were anti-feminist. One girl said something along the lines of “I get it, but it’s not a big deal. They need to chill.” Easy to say, I never saw those girls again. I would’ve spoken up about the misconception, but I was in those weird stages of starting college and didn’t want to be socially shunned. But this ideology is one that is common amongst many women. And that’s what I don’t understand. Why would a woman not want the same rights as a man? What’s even worse is when I see girls support “meninism”. This is a complete joke because 1. Men already have such a higher standard and 2. They’re taking the foundation of feminism and slapping “MEN” over it.

Like I said before, there are those extremists that take things too far and give feminism a bad rep. I don’t really care about the free the nipple movement or if people call me a Latina instead of Latinx. Because there are more pressing issues like the wage gap in the US and how women in third-world countries virtually have no say in any aspect of their lives. Many wonder why women are up in arms when “they already have equal rights”. But this is not the case in other countries and it’s not necessarily the case in this country either. The truth is, we still live in a male-dominated world. Sure, (in the US) we have the right to vote and can own property, but there are still some legal and social aspects that feminism strives to change. You may not be aware of how male dominated this world really is, depending on your privilege: white, upper class, etc. But it is still a problem.

I’m also in favor men wanting to do more “feminine” things like doing makeup or painting their nails. And I’m not excluding transgender persons, either. Things don’t have to be classified as for “boys” or for “girls”. People like what they like, and they shouldn’t have to change who they are for the sake of gender conformity.

And

that’s what feminism is. It’s not about making others feel small and our goal isn’t to complain. Our goal is to educate (like I’m doing this very moment) and empower other women, because the history of our gender hasn’t been a great one and we deserve the same as those with penises. So please, don’t shy away from the word “feminist” or think that we are all raging maniacs that hate men. It’s time to blur the lines between the sexes and become one gradient masterpiece.