Can you guess which "f word" I’m talking about? Yep, feminism. If you read that word and cringed, then you may want to educate yourself and keep reading. If you already consider yourself a ‘feminist,’ then still keep reading so you can agree with me.

Why do people cringe at that word? Why do people immediately start passing judgment—good or bad—when that word is spoken? Is it just because individuals are the worst or is it actually a sign that something is wrong with our culture?

I don’t know at what age I started realizing people treated me differently just because I was a girl. In my home, my mom and dad shared the cooking and cleaning, my dad loved planning events just as much, maybe more so, than my mom, and my brother and I were both responsible for doing the dishes regardless of our age or gender. That is just the way it was: fair. I never thought anything else about it. However, as girls grow up, they are placed into categories. As we develop our own political and social ideals, people start passing judgment. No one cares whether a girl decides she wants to learn about the economy, pay attention to the immigration policies, or anything mildly interesting like that. What matters more is when you label yourself as pro or anti feminism. Apparently that is the most important decision in a young woman’s life. Want to know why? Apparently, when you label yourself as a feminist, as many proudly will admit, these are the conditions you signed up for according to almighty Google:

"Feminists hate families."

"Feminists hate men."

"All feminists are lesbians."

"All feminists are ugly."

"Feminists hate stay-at-home moms."

"All feminists are women."

"All feminists believe in the exact same thing."

"Feminists are always angry."

Wow. I just don’t even know where to start with that laundry list. In addition, do we get a goodie bag with this brochure? Because I sure didn’t get one. Side note, in case you are unsure none of these are true. This stems from the idea that all girls are the same. All girls are supposed to love pink, want to work in professions below men like performing arts, secretaries, nurses, and then have kids and be their mother to raise more girls just like this. This is the way it’s been forever; how is one silly idea going to change these roles that have been engrained into our society for centuries? It starts small. Like stop cringing every time you hear the word feminism. All feminism really means “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” Nowhere in that definition does it say all of the above-added stipulations or that it means women want to be better than men. Just equal. What is so wrong with being equal?

You may be thinking, “Woman, you can vote, work, drive a car, what more do you want?” I want equal pay for men and women. NOT just Caucasian women, I want equal pay for minority women, transgender women, and all kinds of women. You may think that your workplace offers equal pay for women, but you would be wrong. On average a woman makes 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. Yes, that is close to a dollar, but would you be okay with earning $36,468 each year compared to a man earning $44,623 annually? I thought not (Pay Gap calculated for state of Georgia based on 2014 US Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey).

Change doesn’t happen over night, we all know that. It begins with small actions. Maybe don’t use phrases such as “for a girl” or “as a woman,” that tends to send people, like me, over the edge. See this vintage tweet of mine from an experience in high school as proof.

Don’t let people get away with saying stuff like this anymore. Speak up and tell them it’s not okay. People may not realize that they are promoting the inequality between men and women; it could be an honest mistake. Even worse, because it has been continuing for so long, everyone thinks they can just get away with it. Unless you start calling people’s attention to it, no one will start changing. All we want is equality in all aspects of life, with no harsh judgments attached please.