I Am A Feminist

                           
I am a feminist. 

Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.

When you choose to identify with a label, that label is more than likely going to come with a list of negative misconceptions and preconceptions that society has built up. 

I am a feminist but I don't hate men. Yes, I have male friends. I am a feminist and I believe in the equality for both men and women. And equality between masculinity and femininity. I am a feminist but I don't believe that women are better than men. (Misconception number 1: Feminists hate men. Being a feminist does not mean you hate men or believe women are better than men)

Let's talk about misandry for a minute. Misandry and feminism are two very separate things. Misandrists have an ingrained hatred for men and want to be above men. They are not feminists. 

I am a feminist because in 32 states if a woman has a child as a result of rape, the rapist can sue for custody and visitation rights of that child. 

I am a feminist and I believe that women should not be objectified. I am a feminist because I want women to be able to speak up and not be subjected to cat calling and abuse. Catcalling is not a compliment. I am feminist but I also understand that men can be made victim to all of these things. (Misconception number 2: Feminists think only women can be abused. Wrong)

I am a feminist but I don't want more rights than men. I am a feminist and I want to be paid fairly and equally as male co-workers. It's 2016 and gender pay gap is still a thing.Why should I earn 25% less than my male co-worker for the same amount and effort of work? (Misconception number 3: The wage gap does not exist. lol, it does)

I am a feminist and I want to see the day when victims of rape aren't automatically told they were asking for it by the clothes they were wearing or what they were drinking.(Misconception number 4: Only women can be educated on the danger of rape. ???  No.)

I am a feminist because men are shamed for being emotionally open. And this has to change.  More men are likely to die from suicide because they are too afraid to seek help in fear of losing their male dominance status. 

I am a feminist because I hope one day there won't be a stigma around taboo subjects like periods, body hair and breastfeeding in public.

I would like to finish this post by quoting from the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. 

"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex."

Feminism. One word. About 10657 different meanings. What meaning will you choose to believe?