In the beginning, there was inequality. Women were expected to keep a clean house, have children, and keep their husbands happy while the men of the world had all the freedom and opportunity.

As time went on, women and their allies fought more and more for equal rights, and as a result of that fighting, women in America now have the right to vote, serve in the army, own their own property, and do multitudes of other things that men have been able to do all along.

But even now, women are still paid over 20% less than men on average, and women are still looked down upon as the lesser gender. Political debates featuring women often focus less on their stances and more on their wardrobe, and many companies are still reluctant to hire working mothers.

Enter: Feminism.

Because of all of these inequalities and injustices that have fallen upon women, the concept of feminism has become an important one, although the idea itself is nothing new.

And recent waves and radical forms of feminism have brought about a problem that, in reality, is a problem whose size and relevance rivals that of the wage gap and all other problems of inequality that women face.

To many naysayers and hesitaters, the concept of feminism is an embarrassing, frightening, and extremely unfashionable one to associate with. But this is only because we have become so separated from the original meaning of feminism.

"For the record, feminism by definition is: 'The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.'" -Emma Watson

Why is it called feminism and not just equality? Well, probably because women are the ones who are in need of the equality. Probably because women are the gender that is consistently paid less, objectified more, and treated like some kind of second class citizen.

And that's how simple feminism is. But apparently, what feminism isn't is a lot more difficult to wrap your head around.

Feminism is NOT:

Hating Men

Feminism is in no way saying that women are better than men, or even that women are the same as men. Feminism honors the differences between the genders, and doesn't seek to say that one gender is best. On the contrary, feminism simply demands that the genders, different as they may be, be treated as equals politically, economically, and socially.

A Cult Of Bra Burning Lesbians

While there are waves of feminism that hold radical views about women and their undergarments, and while many feminists are also lesbians, neither of these things are earmarks of what a feminist is at his or her core.

Resisting Traditional Family Values

On the contrary, many feminists have the kind of families that would be considered traditional. In extension, feminism is not a war on stay at home moms, or women who sacrifice parts of their professional lives to be mothers. Feminism fits in easily with being a mother, and fights for the right of women to be a President or a CEO, not for some requirement to do so.

True feminists celebrate the miracle of motherhood, and understand the career and life choices made by women unilaterally, regardless of whether or not those choices involve procreation.

A Product of "Women Being Women"

A lot of misogynistic rhetoric claims that much of the passion over feminism and the equality movement is a product of how "emotional" women are, especially as they compare to men. Which is really just fuel for a rage fire coming from every woman within earshot. And that's not a woman thing. That's a any person you accuse of being overtly emotional thing.

Just For Women Who Are Marginalized

You could be the most influential, enabled, and powerful woman in the world with the most supportive husband or wife or family to ever have existed, but you still need feminism.

Because for one, without feminism, the world around us would not reflect our power and our ambition. Laws and technologies would be made without us in mind, and they would eventually grow to exclude us.

Beyond that, there may come a time when you're not as empowered as you are so blessed to be at this moment. And when that time comes, you want to be treated as much more than a second class citizen.

As much truth as there is to the fact that feminism is a movement for the rights of women, everyone benefits from a world where everyone is equal and valued for their unique and useful talents and insights.

Equality would mean that the unique perspectives of men and the unique perspectives of women could be combined to create ideas, technologies, and legislatures that consider and factor in the positives and negatives from multitudes of different groups. This would create a better world for everyone, not just women.

To think that men can make accurate assumptions about women, or the other way around, is a sexist deconstruction of gender identities that are far too different and varied to be limited to mere concepts to be grasped.

So whoever you are, whatever you do, and wherever it is you call home, if you believe in equality, you should be proud to call yourself a feminist.