Feminism: Advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.

This seems like a fairly straight forward definition. Nothing too complicated. Really it almost appears to be a common sense principle these days—well at least you would think it should be. So what is the catch 22?

I have never once called myself a feminist. And, looking back I should have absolutely claimed that label multiple times in my life. I have also never said that I am not a feminist because I really, by definition, am one.

So why haven’t I call myself a feminist?

Unfortunately the stigma surrounding feminism has become something rather unpleasant. I think that I have always avoided this word simply for the sake of not having to deal with the backlash to this claim. I am afraid that this approach is that of many others as well, because the actual articulation of the word “feminism” has become attributed to extremist individuals rather than the actual meaning of the word.

If you claim the title of feminist, you are made to feel like that means that your success is due to your gender, and even that you are a contributor to an unjust society through the discrimination of men. If you do not claim the title, you are going against equality.

But believe it or not, I am not writing about this to make a statement about being a feminist. I am writing this because I want to start pointing out the discrepancies we make in our own definition of everyday words. Look at the definition again. Why has this word changed into something that is interpreted so negatively?

Yes, there are some groups that have branched out from the traditional definition of feminism. But, when it comes down to it, most of us are still feminists.

The argument over this word has become more prominent than actual equality. This seems a little bit ridiculous. We should be talking about equal pay and working to create a world where women feel safe, rather than avoiding these issues by arguing about terminology.

This idea made me think: Maybe we should just change the word? As many others do, we could just say that we are for equality for woman instead of calling it feminism. We could drop this word from our language if that is what it takes to stop the unpleasantness. But is that really going to fix anything?

No. I really do not think it will. I think that we have to start looking at what we say and how we define ourselves through actual definition, not though our own interpretation based on what works towards an agenda. I think that if we were to make a new word for equal rights, it would also get lost in interpretation.

Less than 100 years ago women were nowhere near equal to men and we have already come so far, but there are still more challenges to face.

So I will finally say it. I am a feminist, simply because of the very definition of the word.