I self-identify as a feminist and anyone who knows me will tell you it's a pretty large part of me and my values. I never shy away from a political conversation, specifically when it involves women's rights. That's gotten me into a lot of arguments over the years and a lot of my peers, including many women I know, consider me to be too aggressive or forward with my beliefs. I've heard one too many times recently that women have come so far and have more rights than ever and that feminists are annoying or unreasonable. Being a feminist simply means that you believe in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. I don't see why this has to be so controversial and why everyone doesn't self-identify as a feminist.

To me, feminism means believing that gender should have no bearing on anything other than your biological traits.

I quite honestly don't see a need for delineations between genders in things like appearance, personality, life expectations, etc. I think we are assigned a sex at birth and all that determines is our medical care and the capabilities of our bodies. The whole concept of gender is a creation of society to divide the world into two. As human beings, we like to categorize things to make sense of them, and the easiest way to categorize the human race is by female and male.

When approached with the question of how we are unequal, I often ask if we would ever expect people of different races to use different bathrooms, or attend different schools, if we would expect people of certain religions to wear certain clothing or make relatively less or more money. Of course not! We have decided that this kind of discrimination is wrong, so why is it still accepted based on gender? Anytime we acknowledge a difference between two groups, one will be held above the other. Therefore, the fact that we continue to accept differences in the way men and women are treated is a major problem.

The fact that the LGBTQ+ community still is not treated equally or fairly is further indication that we are not gender-blind and equality hasn't been reached. If gender was inconsequential it wouldn't matter if someone decided to identify with a different gender or love someone of the same gender. Real feminism means supporting equal rights across everyone on the gender and sexuality spectrum, not prioritizing women over everyone else.

Yes, everyone's opinion is valid and I respect that many people think gender expectations are okay and are comfortable with the way things are. However, it is unfair to demonize a group that stands for equality simply because they challenge what everyone else deems as normal. Feminists are not aggressive or discriminatory towards men, and identifying as a feminist or calling someone else a feminist is not negative. Feminism is not just about being a strong, independent woman, it is about standing for something larger than yourself and working towards a world where gender is obsolete.