More than ever, feminism is needed in America. Unfortunately, many people do not understand what feminism is exactly since they have an extremist's perspective in their mind.

Let me break it down for you real quick.

Feminism: The advocacy for political, social, financial, etc. equality of everyone.

What feminism is not: Believing that women are meant to be superior to men.

As a feminist, I am standing up for the boy who writes poetry and is not afraid to show his emotions yet is bullied by others for expressing femininity.

I am standing up for my future daughter so she may live in a world where she can earn equal pay, equal opportunities, and equal acknowledgment for her accomplishments. No more talk of, "oh she's a girl, she can't do that."

I am fighting for the trans woman who is being told repeatedly that, "God gave you a penis, so God made you a boy" and disregarding their identity.

I am standing up to a president who has a past of talking down women who intimidate him and disregarding there is ongoing discrimination in this country.

I am also standing up for some women who do not even realize the daily oppression they face because it has become normalized for them.

By ignoring that there is ongoing discrimination occurring in this world, we are only supporting the patriarchy, which favors white male domination in our society. Women need to come together, not only to boost one another, but to be the voices for those who are not being heard.

This also means calling out injustice occurring in our movement, so we can reform and become even stronger. For instance, I do have an issue with the Women's March when the "pink pussyhat" because it symbolizes all women are fighting for reproductive rights because "it's my vagina, my choice" in regards to birth control regulations and abortion. However, not all women have a vagina. It is understanding that by woman, it is not a physical definition, but a more mental and spiritual definition of what it means to be a woman.

As a society, we should all be feminists. We like to talk about how progressive America is, but that is a lie. If we keep letting discrimination go unpunished, we are only letting discrimination continue. If at anything, fight for the rights of the future generation so they may never have to face the struggles so many of us face on a daily basis.