So this is what we have come to, huh? Women proudly walking around in public branding themselves with titles that blatantly defy everything we have spent hundreds of years working towards. Actually, as a matter of fact, this little “Women Against Feminism” movement you're supporting here isn’t even a movement at all, it’s actually the exact opposite. In fact what you’re really doing is preventing us from making any sort of forward progression whatsoever, and if you really want label yourselves as a “movement,” consider the fact that the only direction you’re moving is backwards. You are retracing the steps of so many powerful women that have come before you and erasing the victories they spent their entire lives fighting for.

And yet, you still have the audacity to pride yourself as a woman who stands against…women?

Feminism, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is directly defined as “The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” So your argument that this whole feminism situation is just one massive attempt to tear down men and raise ourselves above them is actually completely 100% FALSE. Feminism is actually the exact opposite; feminism advocates for a woman’s right to independence. Feminism means defining yourself instead of letting others do it for you. It means understanding that your worth as a human being does not, under any circumstance, depend on the number of men who want to sleep with you. It means taking ownership of your life, your body, your mind, your ideas. So excuse me for not being able to understand where the hell you are coming from when you chose to identify yourself as anything but a feminist.

In 2015, TIME Magazine wanted to remove the word “feminism” from our vocabularies. In fact, to put it in their own words, they wanted to “ban” the term. I can’t help but feel offended and quite frankly a bit angered by the fact that this major publication, one that reaches millions of people, was promoting such a heinous message to the world. You see, feminism revolves around the enhancement of justice and equality for ALL people, no matter what gender they identify as. Feminism has never been a “trend”, it’s a continuously evolving and intersectional civil rights and social justice movement with such a vast history that we are still adding onto to this day and will continue on into the future. But by “cringing” (as they like to put it) at the word feminist, TIME Magazine is ultimately stating that they are cringing at the thought of a world that recognizes women as full and equal human beings as well as citizens. So tell me again about how you like the idea of a world without feminism?

Look, the bottom line is as long as there are women who are not receiving equal pay for equal work and the government keeps trying to control women’s choices for their bodies, we need the word feminist. Anyone who stands up for the rights of girls and women, male or female, is a feminist. There is this incredibly misleading idea that feminism is specifically for the female gender. Well, it isn’t. Feminism is for any and all people, regardless of gender. Again, going back to the root definition of the term, feminism is simply the advocation of equality for everybody, non-gender specific.

By this point you might be asking yourself a myriad of questions, some regarding my feminism and what makes me such a passionate feminist. Other than just your standard common sense and basic logic, my own reasons for needing feminism are personal to me just like those of so many other women out there. But I will be honest with you, lady wearing that god-awful shirt, I was once like you. Believe it or not, I once struggled with the concept of a group of women joining forces to try and put a stop to sexism. It took me a while to look past all of the negative comments I had seen and heard about “radical feminists”putting men down for being "pigs” or “pieces of trash” for simply being a part of an institutionalized culture of sexism and growing up around incredibly objectifying and sexist attitudes towards women. I didn’t think it was fair to generalize every man as a problem that needed to be fixed. And then one day something clicked. I had stumbled across an article on the internet about a group of women each telling their stories about why they each need feminism. Even though I couldn’t personally relate to any of these women's stories, each one was completely valid. And that was when it hit me. That’s when I realized for myself how much of a problem this is. That even if I thought every single situation may not apply to me, the problems we are facing are a part of everyone in some way or another. So it does apply to me and it does apply to men. The “Not all men” trend that became a popular bandwagon for a lot of men who felt personally offended by feminism (because OF COURSE any indication that male superiority may be replaced by gender equality is pretty much the equivalent of the world ending) is completely idiotic. No, you may not be actively part of the problem, but you are a male who has grown up in our culture, these problematic ideas and viewpoints are ingrained in your head just as much as the guys who catcall and harass and do whatever else they do. So yes, all men, and all women too, because even if some of us are affected more than others or are more prominent contributors to the issue, we all need to be a part of the solution in getting the world to understand the problem and work towards change.

So why am I a feminist?

Look up the term “feminist” on Urban Dictionary. Yeah, scroll past the top answers, all the good ones.

See that? See every one of those answers implying that feminists are fat, ugly, couldn’t-get-a-man-so-she-turned-gay, hairy, evil, greedy, selfish bitches?

Yeah. That’s why I’m a feminist.

I am a proud feminist because women should be able to walk down the street at any time of day or night and not have to worry about being attacked. Because while boys are taught that the things that ultimately make them “good” men are universally accepted ethical ideals, women are led to believe that our moral compass lies somewhere between our legs. Literally. Because feminism is about supporting women taking ownership of their bodies. It’s about reproductive justice regardless of whether you choose to utilize these services or not. Feminism is respecting a woman’s choice to do whatever the hell she wants with her body, in spite of your personal opinions. Feminism is about feeling sexy, regardless of what the magazines may tell you and ensuring that these body politics false aspirations of “desirability” do not translate onto young girls who are so heavily influenced by this media culture on a daily basis. Feminism allows you to not seek validation in the minds of others, but to feel validated in your worth as a strong woman. Feminism is recognizing the intersection of race, gender, class, and sexuality as part of a person’s complete identity. Feminism is the realization that not all women are simultaneously white, middle-class, cis-gendered, and healthy. Feminism is about helping people who suffer from white privilege withdrawal to understand that in order to help marginalized groups stand against the system of oppression, you must first recognize your own privilege. Feminism is me. Feminism is US. So before you go off and label yourself as “one of the thousands of women standing against feminism,” understand what it is that you’re actually saying. Understand that even though you may not feel the weight of oppression to the same extent as so many other women out there do, you are still part of the equation. And at the end of the day, you are one of the reasons why this world needs feminism.

Because feminism is looking in the mirror and realizing that thisis what a feminist looks like.