Feminism (noun): the belief that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities. Feminist (noun/adjective): a person who supports feminism or of, relating to, or supporting feminism.

I felt the need to start by explicitly stating the definition of both of these terms because oftentimes, people have the misconception that feminists are “crazy” females who do not shave their legs or armpits and basically hate men. This could not be any further from the truth. A feminist is simply a person, female or male, that wants equal rights for both genders, and an outspoken feminist simply notices and points out that equal rights for both genders have not yet been achieved. For example, The Miss Universe Competition, which aired last night, proved to me that equality for both males and females is still farther from being achieved than I would like it to be.

Every single one of the eighty contestants was absolutely stunning and carried herself with poise and confidence. I wish I could say that each contestant was intelligent, cared about international issues, and wanted to make a lasting difference in the world – but I cannot. I can’t say this, not because I doubt it is the truth, but because Fox decided to focus more on how hot their bodies looked in a bathing suit and stilettos, and how well they could take their sarongs off (cue Steve Harvey heart attack comment), and how well they could pull off an expensive evening gown. The important questions came only after the panel of judges cut the starting 80 down to the remaining 5 that they deemed most um... deserving. I guess it is crucial to make sure a woman looks incredible in a bikini before asking her any questions about the war on terror or gun control. Maybe next time Barack Obama or Donald Trump wants to comment on gun control laws we should make sure their beach bods measure up, too.

During the commercials, we got to get to know some of the beautiful contestants. That was nice – they actually allowed them to speak. However, the topics that the network chose for the females to speak about disappointed me as well. In the film, there is something called the Bechdel test. This test asks whether a fiction film features, at least, two women who discuss something other than men. Maybe the Bechdel test should start testing live television, as well. Instead of discussing their take on the effects of climate change, what to do about the increasing terrorism around the world, or you know, women’s rights, they talked about their first kisses and their first boyfriends… maybe we should ask Bernie Sanders what his first kiss was like in the next Democratic debate – whether or not his story is funny will let me know if he is equipped with the mind and leadership skills it takes to be a world leader right?

And finally, the icing on the cake of the Miss Universe Pageant, Steve Harvey accidentally gives Miss Colombia the crown when it actually was supposed to go to Miss Philippines. Several people zoomed in on Miss Philippines’ face when she won but was not given the crown, and memes and gifs have already been made about her animosity towards Miss Colombia about it. Whether or not there was actually any animosity in her heart when this mistake was made will remain unknown. But one thing is for sure, people love to turn females against each other, or, at least, make it seem like they are turning against each other (cue Steve Harvey's comment about girls stealing each other’s makeup and shoes), because, well, the longer females are portrayed as wanting to take each other down, the less possible it will be for them to focus on building each other up.