There is nothing that will confuse me more than women who proudly declare themselves "anti-feminists.”

Feminism has become a bad thing. It has become a trigger-word for a lot of people, leaving sour tastes in the mouths of those who want to disrespect women but not be called out for doing so. And declaring yourself a "non-feminist" seems to be the Hot New Trend in today’s media culture with provocative headlines such as “I'm An 18-Year-Old Female And I Will Never Be A Feminist."

They are shocking and you’re prompted to click on them immediately. Next, I find, is one of two things. Either the article will declare every single point the author believes in which is basically feminism or they will generalize and paint a picture of feminism to be this evil horrible, misandrist thing. The latter I think is probably largely based on meninist or ‘feminazi’ memes.

One, the anti-feminists that denounce it because it is a ‘nazi’ movement are just so far gone that I don’t think a single article can help them. Believe it or not, there really are people who think feminism is a movement to “burn men at the stake”. They really think women are investing their energy into a movement for men. These people are real, they really exist!

But okay, the ones that claim to be “non-feminists” because they are for “equal rights for men and women” confuse me the most. Sure there are things that need to be talked about and raised awareness for in terms of men’s rights. Sexual assault happens to men, masculinity is a toxic concept that only harms self-perception, etc. But those are feminist issues.

Those are issues rooted in anti-women ideologies. The sexual assault of men is something that is not widely discussed because of the notion that women are weak little things that need to be protected, making others think sexual assault only happens to them. Also, there is a false belief that many sexual assault incidents are based on sexual desire when they are really about power. This is why the most common cases are of men attacking women. They are seen as the inferior beings.

Masculinity is toxic in that it says that showing emotion or vulnerability is a negative thing, as it is a ‘womanly’ thing. Men are discouraged to partake in any activity or dialogue that even slightly resembles femininity and that is a concept drilled into us from an early age. In Kindergarten my entire class made fun of a boy who picked flowers during recess.

Feminism is a movement for all people because it addresses the societal standards that make it possible for women to always be one step behind despite taking longer strides.

Feminism is a movement that aims to balance the norm for men and women.

It is a movement that is FOR WOMEN but NOTANTI-MEN.I always saw it as this way. Both men and women are on the same staircase trying to get to the same destination. They should get there together at the same time, but women are inherently several steps lower than men. The end game is equality for men and women. But you can’t have that unless you bring women up.

So I really don’t get it. I really don’t understand how people can fail so epically at perhaps doing a minute or two of research. Even google the word: “Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social equality of sexes.” Of SEXES. Where does it say to “kill all men” or that women are “the superior gender”. Please, it’s 2017. Talk to a feminist. Read an article. Form your own damn thoughts.

It'd almost be laughable if it weren't so concerning.