I have always been a feminist. I have always been aware that women still face a huge disadvantage compared to their male counterparts. I did not realize how annoying, and sometimes scary, it is to go out to a bar as a woman until recently.

Currently, I’m studying abroad in Ireland. So, at the age of 20, I am legally allowed to purchase alcohol and enter bars. I had never been in a bar before this, since I am underage in the United States. Until I experienced it first hand, I had not realized that men in bars can easily be compared to vultures preying on unsuspecting women.

While my friend and I danced a few days ago, three different men “accidentally” touched her inappropriately and without her consent. The next night, a man tried to get me to kiss him simply because I had told him my name. Apparently contributing minimally in a conversation means that you’re interested in snogging, a social norm that I was previously oblivious to. It was to the point where I was so uncomfortable, I don’t even know if I want to go out anymore. When we went out with our two friends who happen to be men, they were not faced with even a little of the unwanted attention that we were subjected to.

This should be very simple and I shouldn’t have to write this. If someone does not invite you to touch them, don’t. If you see a woman dancing with her friends, and decide to approach her, do not touch her. Do not continue to try and dance around her if she says “no” or if she continuously moves away from you. Women are not play things for men. This kind of behavior should not be synonymous with masculinity, this kind of behavior should be synonymous with barbarianism. I’m tired of men getting to act the way that they want, while women get second guessed for every single decision that they make. I’m tired of being harassed, and I’m tired of men not being held accountable for their actions. I’m just tired.

Throughout history, women have been treated as if they were less than human beings. Just one hundred years ago, women were not legally able to vote in the United States of America. Until 1993, there were still states where marital rape was not a crime. That was just three years before I was born. Now, a major presidential candidate spews misogyny (along with racism, homophobia, and too much other bigotry to be listed) practically every other day, and is praised for his “honesty.”

Women have always been treated as if they were less important than men, and only now, in this day and age, are we audacious enough to deny it. There are people who like to think that because women can vote, go to college, and work, that women and men are treated equally. As my personal stories of harassment point out, along with a basic understanding of history and studies done on the topic, this is not even remotely true. Women are still seen as less competent beings and are still subjected to endless amounts of harassment and objectification.

And in spite of the overwhelming evidence that sexism against women is still blatant, there are still women who think that we don’t need feminism. There are people who are against it. In order to defeat sexism, men and women alike need to acknowledge that it exists in the first place. This is a problem, and we have a long way to go until it is fixed. Until women can safely dance in bars, until women are taken seriously in the work place, until women can be granted safety and justice upon reporting a rape, we need to fight.