On March 25, 2016, the world will witness the epic brawl between Batman and Superman in theaters internationally. In the process, the movie will set up a cinematic universe similar to that of Marvel’s, but also it will introduce one of comic books' most empowering superheroine: Wonder Woman. A demigoddess with her Lasso of Truth, Bracelets of Submission, and a tiara will be introduced to the world not as a love interest, but as a powerful woman picking up after Batman and Superman’s mess. Afterward, she will lead in her own solo movie, a groundbreaking event since she will be the first-ever female-led superhero movie ever. If the movie is a success, it will forever change the superhero franchise.

One day in the future, we can potentially have an Iron Woman, a female Thor, a woman who doesn’t have to be a damsel in distress or be a love interest for a leading male. We live in a rather progressive time but in spite of all the innovations, women are still not equal to men. They get paid less. They are still victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Women are still faced with scrutiny wherever they may go. Women are taking a stand and are fighting for change.

What is feminism? If you believe that women deserve equal rights to a man, then you are a feminist.

Beyonce has made it a personal choice for her tours to be strictly run by women. Women backup singers, dancers, instrument players -- everyone you see on stage during a performance will be a woman. And it’s not because she hates men, but because she understands that women are just as capable of performing as men. She is giving them the opportunity they rarely get.

Beyonce has also become a symbol of self-acceptance. Embrace your body, have sex if you want to, dress up because you like to dress up. She is singlehandedly giving women around the world to be true to the woman they want to be and not be forced to change to the biased expectations of society. If a woman dresses up, people ask, for who? If a woman has a lot of sex, she’s deemed a slut. If she even talks about sex, she’s shamed. But no questions for a man, because it’s socially accepted. That double standard is not OK. Beyonce is speaking out for women to embrace their beauty and their sexuality -- not for anyone but for themselves.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have Kim Kardashian. Kim is very comfortable in her skin and recently posted a nude picture of herself on social media and got backlash from everyone. She fought back and argued that she is still being slut-shamed for the sex tape that was leaked and gave her a rise to fame, and in a way she’s right. She’s comfortable with her body, she had a sex tape, so move on, right?

The problem with Kim and the rest of the Kardashians and Jenners is the message they convey to society. Do nothing of value, make a sex tape, and you too can be famous. When naked pictures of female celebrities were leaked a couple of years ago, no one was upset about the pictures. They were upset about the person that leaked them. Everyone is upset at Kim because it’s Kim, a woman who has made a career out of doing nothing beneficial for anyone. She has her own series, an app, a game, and millions of dollars out of a sex tape that made her famous. And that’s not what people need. We need women, and men, who make a career the right way.

Daisy Ridley, best-known for her breakout performance in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" as Rey, was recently criticized for setting unrealistic body expectations for daughters everywhere by being too thin. Her character in the movie is very independent, self-sufficient, does not rely on anyone to save the day, but will accept the help if she needs it. She happens to be beautiful and she happens to be thin, but the character is not pushing beauty and weight expectations down anyone’s throat. Ridley fought back the critics with powerful words: “‘Real women’ are all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all levels of brave. I will not apologize for how I look, what I say and how I live my life cause what’s happening inside is much more important anyway.”

But why isn't anyone complaining about a male cast member of being too thin or too big? Because no one cares. But if a woman is too big or too thin, everyone loses their minds because that’s just the way we’ve been taught to think. If a woman is too big they should consider losing a couple of pounds, but if a woman is too thin, then she must have some kind of eating disorder. Women have to look a certain way, dress a certain way, have their hair a certain style, they are fed unrealistic expectations instead of telling them “you’re beautiful, don’t change for anyone,” and that’s damaging. We criticize ourselves enough as it is, we don’t need others to pile on. Ridley’s case shows that it’s not just the men who treat women unfairly, women treat other women just as bad. If everyone is tearing down on women, how can we expect for progress to happen?

The Barbie doll has recently gotten a redesign: not only can you have the original Barbie, you now can get a Barbie that’s petite, tall, or curvy. People are pleased with new Barbies because they depict the doll as how an actual girl would look. Not everyone has the same body size, the same color hair, and we should not expect them to. The sooner we accept this truth, the better.

Emma Watson, actress beloved by all who played Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" series and will play Belle in the upcoming "Beauty and the Beast" live-action remake, was named a U.N. Woman Goodwill Ambassador in the summer of 2014. She delivered a moving speech where she clarified misconceptions of feminism as a whole:

“I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive. Why is the word such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain and think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights.”

And sadly, she’s right. The number of female heads of state of government is 19; men outnumber women as judges in 50 percent of the countries; only 19 percent of Supreme Courts have a female president; less than 4 percent of CEOs in the 500 largest corporations are women. A woman’s glass ceiling is a man’s walking ground.

Another important matter affecting women now is the legal state of abortion. People have their opinions on it whether they choose to be pro-life or pro-choice but most agree that they are not in a place to restrict women from being able to choose, even if they don’t agree with it. But since every state can create restrictions as long as they “don’t place an undue burden… a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking an abortion,” as stated in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The regulators claim they are protecting women’s health. But instead they are discouraging women from getting an abortion that they desire because of excessive rules that their state government is imposing on them.

For instance, Texas has the HB2 law that requires that abortion clinics meet the same building standards as surgical centers and requires their doctors to have hospital admitting privileges. What does this mean? Abortion clinics are being shut down because they don’t fit the requirements. You don’t need a big clinic for an abortion that is typically an outpatient procedure. As for the hospital admitting privileges, most hospitals won’t admit doctor who specialize in abortions. Women who want to get abortions or need to get abortions are getting discouraged or being forced into having a child that they don’t want simply because the state laws are doing everything possible for women not to get one.

Men are getting to decide issues on the body and health of a woman and that’s just something they should not be entitled to do. Political and religious views put aside, they are not the ones carrying the child. If a woman wants to be a mom, that’s OK. If she wants to have an abortion, she shouldn’t be restrained from doing so by complicated laws.

In this week’s episode of "American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson," the main focus was on prosecutor Marcia Clark. Marcia Clark is a woman who really enjoys being an attorney and working hard, but wasn’t used to all the media attention that the others were used to. To be thrown into the eye of the media is bad enough, but being thrown as a woman is demoralizing. In the midst of the trial of the century, Clark is facing a divorce and fighting over the custody of her children, all the while working a 70-hour work week.

She has enough on her plate as it is. But the media starts attacking her on her hair and her clothes, calling her a bitch when she was just simply confident. She was pressured to work late by her male boss, attacked for being a mother. In response to the critics, She got a new hairdo, she dressed differently, continued to work hard, but even in spite of this, she was attacked. There was just no way for Marcia to win in the public eye. They weren’t attacking OJ, or Cochran, or Shapiro or Robert Kardashian. They were attacking Marcia of her gender. Something that many women today can relate to, even 20 years later. This powerful episode puts you in the shoes of a woman who didn’t want the media attention -- she just wanted to do right by Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman -- but instead was destroyed by the scrutiny of the media and the people.

A new movement has arisen in the actress community called “Ask Her More.” Several celebrities are outraged that on the Red Carpet they are not asked about their career or their roles or their success throughout the year, like their male counterparts. Instead, they ask about their dresses, their shoes, their hair, their makeup. They should be asked about their craft, something they clearly know something more about. A woman is more than just her appearance and they are more than capable of answering substantial questions that the men often get asked.

Last summer, Ariana Grande went on a rant about double standards and misogyny that women have to deal with today. “I’m not Big Sean’s ex. I’m not Niall’s possible new girl. I am Ariana Grande – and if that’s not interesting enough then don’t talk to me.” People should not be valued by the person they’re dating or married to but their value as an individual and what they have to say, what they have to offer the world.

Why are men never asked superficial questions, why are they not asked about their girlfriends or wives? Because, sadly, we have been led to perceive that men are to be taken more seriously because they’re men. We shouldn’t be idolized and placed higher than women. Women are every bit as capable, intelligent, valuable as men and society need to stop belittling them.

We have to remember that all though we have not reached the point of full equality, women’s rights in the United States are much more progressive than those in other countries. For example, in Yemen a woman is considered half a witness during a court trial, Vatican City doesn’t allow women to vote, in Ecuador you can only get an abortion unless you’re considered demented, Morocco can charge rape victims with crimes for being alone with an unrelated man, women can’t leave their homes without their husbands in Yemen, and women aren’t allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. Yes, we are much more progressive in the United States but we are not out of the woods.

Women have progressed significantly over the years, but the road to equality is still a raging war. Women can dress however they like, speak however they like, and become whomever they chose to be; A teacher, a mother, a lawyer, a neurosurgeon. They cannot be limited any opportunity just because they are of a different gender.

The goal of feminists is to eliminate the disparity between men and women, eliminate the power gap between the two, and ultimately have women live in a world where men don’t have a head start. Where a woman has a real chance to win the race. Women shouldn’t have to learn to adapt or change to what society expects of them. Instead, men should learn to act differently, to think differently, and to not see women as something entirely different from them. They are human too and every bit as same as us. Once those barriers are broken, only then will there be equality for women and their struggle will be over.