Let's all get on the same page here, and yes this is written by a living, breathing, feminist. Oh no, are you offended already?

I've seen a lot of use and slander of the word feminism lately and I want to clear the air. I don't understand where feminism and hating men coincide. Literally, they do not have anything to do with each other!! According to Merriam-Webster, Feminism is:

1. the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
2. organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests

Here is how I see it, I just want to be equal to my male counterparts. Yes, even when the dirty work comes in like having to register to be drafted if need be. Women have been seen as the lesser sex for a long time, we've had to fight for our rights for years and in 2017 we still aren't done. And here's the thing, we can all agree that women in America have more rights than women in other places, and we aren't arguing that. We are arguing our treatment in a country that is so advanced.

You can bring in biology if you want and you can bring in the past and how things may have worked just fine, but for some of us, that isn't enough. Women are not just women and men are not just men, we are all humans who are capable of doing whatever, with no gender barriers. Women can fight the front lines and men can be nurses. Feminism is about fighting those gender barriers.

Feminism is not the She Woman Man Haters Club, I promise. If you want to let your man be head of the household, so be it. I'm gonna support you either way. What I will not support is being expected to let a man run my household if I choose not to. I will not support a man to make decisions about my body. I will not support being paid less to do the same job, just because of my biological gender. These are just a few of the things feminists fight for. This is feminism.

You don't have to like it or agree with it, you don't have to support it, but you can't keep defining it so you have something angry to say. Women are beautiful creatures, but we are not delicate flowers. Women are just as badass as men, and that my friend, is what feminism supports.

Did I say the F word too many times for you? Good, that is the point, that is why I wrote this. It is not a word to make you uncomfortable or scared, and if you feel that way, let's talk. It is a word to define a movement that shouldn't have to exist but does because our society is so obsessed with oppression. I declare that if you are so sick of feminism, you take 2017 as an opportunity to change the fact that it is a movement. Stop bitching, get off your ass, and help women end the battle we have been fighting for so long.