Before you get your pitch forks and make rash judgements, please actually read this and try to understand it from someone else’s view. Because every time I’ve talked to anyone who is against feminism, it’s clear they really just don’t understand what it means.

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”

• Feminism means equality.

So when I hear woman saying they're against feminism, it blows my mind. You're against being treated as an equal? You want to be treated as less than someone else just because of your gender? It doesn’t mean women are asking to be above men. It doesn’t mean we are asking for more rights or bigger breaks because we are female. No, it simply means we would like to be treated fairly, get paid equally, and we want the same rights. It doesn’t even have to be just females, either, I think everyone should be treated equally.

• Male or Female Feminists

People have this weird belief that feminists are only supposed to be females because once again, they don’t understand it. If you are a man, and you think you should be treated equal to a woman, then congratulations - you are a feminist.

• Pay difference

If you think males and females are already equal, and we should all just stop bitching about it, then explain the pay gap between us? It is believed women only get paid about 80% of what a man is paid. So for every dollar a man is paid, a woman is paid 80 cents. For the SAME amount of work and the same time. I’ve had this debate before, and a man argued saying, “Well we are better workers than females, I’ve never worked with a woman that was as good as me.” Okay if someone isn’t a good worker, no, I don’t think they should be paid equally. That’s simple. But that’s for a manager to decide when they make the decision on what your raises should be. It’s like saying, “Oh, well girls aren’t as fast of runners, so they should start a few feet behind boys in a 100-meter dash because they won’t win anyways.”

Why? Shouldn’t everyone be given the same opportunity to succeed? Everyone should start out at the same line, and if they aren’t a good worker (in this case, a good runner) that will show during the race. And at the end of the finish line, your manager can give more money to the champion.

• Military

Women and men have “equal but different” physical standards. The military has recognized their physical differences and placed them on a separate physical grading scale. I’m not sure how everyone feels about this, but in my opinion, if we do want to be equal to men, we do have to do what they do. Yes, I know our bodies are made differently and men are stronger than women. So, you might say it’s not fair to hold them to the same standards as men. But if you’re in combat, is that really fair for a man to have more work than a female? If you want to be equal, be equal.

• If you are still reading this and don’t believe women are treated less fairly:

I know it might sound crazy, but I hate when guys let me go in front of them. If you are reading this, and you’re like wow, they’re just trying to be respectful, you’re so unappreciative. Okay, I can respect that you’re trying to be nice, but I don’t want to go in front of you, mostly because I don’t want to feel like you’re staring at my ass, but secondly, I don’t need to go in front of anyone, I’m able to walk along side of you and feel respected.

I get men hitting on me every single day. And again, some of you will read this, like, wow, brag much? You should be thankful people think you’re attractive. No, I don’t want to be thought of as attractive. Most the time when men are hitting on me or whistling at me, they can’t even see my face, and I’m dressed in sweats. All they can see is that I’m a woman so automatically their brain goes somewhere else. If you don’t give them attention, you walk past with your head down, then they’ll start calling you a bitch and a prude. That’s not equal, and that’s not fair. I have never made a man feel like that. I’ve never whistled at them like they’re a dog and made lewd comments about their body.

A man’s argument to this will be that they wouldn’t mind if a girl commented on their body, okay, but would you feel respected if that’s all you ever heard? If people constantly made you feel inferior and that your only purpose is to look good for them? You would feel insecure. Threatened. Which is how I feel, and which is also how most other women feel. So again, I would like to be treated as equal.

So to me, when I hear someone say they're against feminism, it's like saying you're against basic human rights for women. I should be treated as an equal, I should get equal pay, I should be respected, and I shouldn't be thought of as a sex object or that my place is in the kitchen or cleaning the house. The point is that everyone can be anyone they want to be. A man can be a nurse, and a woman can be a doctor. If you don't believe that, or you don't believe in equal rights, please get out of the 60's.