"I'm a feminist"

Three little words is all it takes to create some interesting reactions from a wide variety of people. It shouldn't bother people so much, in fact, it should really only be a neutral reaction or a mutual one; at least not something to ruffle your feathers over. But that's not the society that we live in. Feminism has always been a hot, controversial topic, and there are many different views on it - but that's just an understatement. We could go on, discussing what truly makes a feminist. For some, it's never as black and white. I'm still educating myself as much as I can and I still have so much to learn, but I know that this rings true for me: the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of e v e r y o n e is what feminism is to me. At the end of the day, I don't think it will really matter to everyone, but what will matter is what being a feminist means to you, and how it resonates to your life.

"I'm a feminist"

Sometimes I regret uttering those words to someone I don't know that well, or to anyone at all, because it usually back fires. It's not that I'm ashamed of announcing I am a feminist (not at all, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this article) but sometimes, the anxiety and exhaustion of having to deal with ignorant and sometimes straight up mean people, isn't worth it in the long run. It's all about picking your battles; which ones are worth it, and which ones are a waste of time?

When I tell someone that I am a women's right activist, and someone who believes in equality, the first thing (most) of them have said have been things along these lines:

"Oh no. Are you going to be triggered at everything I say or do?"
"Sorry, I don't care for women's rights activism because, as I see it, women really don't have it that bad"
"Are you a psycho man hater?"
"Here we go" *starts laughing obnoxiously/nervously*

Why does this freak people out? I mean, if you don't agree with me - that's fine because everyone is obviously entitled to their own thoughts and opinions. However, I want you to respect my opinion, and why I believe in feminism and that it can work. People are just so incredibly quick to judge that because I am a feminist, I am this psychotic, delusional, hypocritical, man hater. And guess what? I'm not. I'll admit that I used to be, that when I was younger, I supported that whole "let's hate men, women are the better gender" nonsense. And it's normal to mess up and be ill-informed. But I'm focusing on today, where we're at now. I'm hoping that people will understand where we're coming from even if they don't necessarily agree with the feminist movement. All we want is to be respected, and to not be categorized as these wretched band of crazy women - besides, feminism isn't just for women . . . it's for everybody.