Feminism is largely misunderstood in today’s society. People assume feminism is a radical idea for crazy women, but in reality all it really means is equality for men and women which should not be seen as a radical idea. A lot of people think that all feminism means is women not shaving their legs and denouncing men and a lot of other crazy ideas - which is completely not it at all. Feminism is equality, and in 2016 equality should be an inherent right to all.

A huge misconception about feminism is that only women can be feminists. This is completely wrong. It does not matter who you are or where you came from, if you believe men and women should be treated equally, you are a feminist. The very premise of feminism is so simple yet people exaggerate it to extreme means. Some people assume want some sort of special treatment in the world and that makes those people angry, but in reality women do not want to be treated differently, they want equality.

A lot of men are scared to admit to being a feminist because they are scared of being ridiculed or harassed for believing in feminism. This is a huge problem today because some of those who believe in gender equality, men and women, are too afraid to do anything about it. Men especially are afraid to act or speak up because of the stigma that they are acting against men and their own gender. Men should be able to say with pride that they believe in gender equality because really, what is so radical about that?

Women of course are a huge part of feminism seeing as their equality is what people across the country today are fighting for; however though, more people need to start acting in order for women to truly gain equality. Women were not even given the right to vote until 1965 and yet fifty years later, women are seen as lesser beings. It is a law that women are to be treated equally, but gender inequality is happening every day. This is absolutely ludicrous. Men and women must come together to make a real change. Women alone have of course made progress over the years, gaining suffrage, but if more men stand up and act as well, it would truly prove that men and women are equal and deserve equality.

With all of the misconceptions about feminism today, it is of the utmost importance for people across the country to learn the true meaning of feminism and step up to fight for equality. Men and women both are responsible for the change so in order for this change to happen, we must all work together. We need to end the ridiculous assumptions about feminism and feminists and strive for real change in the country and a big part of this is men embracing feminism for what it truly is and disregarding the negative, and false, connotations with it.