Feminism is the belief in the equality of the sexes, plain and simple. Both men and women face discrimination and stereotypes that they must overcome, but women face more, hence the term feminism. Feminism is not this dirty word that men should be afraid to use, and yet many are. I believe that this is due to the misconception of what exactly it means to be a feminist. It is not man-hating, that is misandry. It is not a plan for matriarchal domination, in fact, a society that favors any gender is exactly what feminists work against. True feminists believe in achieving equality by fixing all gender disparity issues, and for this reason, I am a feminist.

In a perfect world, gender would not be an issue in society, this article would serve no purpose, and everyone would be on their merry way. But we live in an imperfect world, where young boys are told to “man up and quit acting like a girl”. We’ve all heard it before, and it has much more harmful implications than what is initially perceived. Children are the most impressionable people in the world. They look up to the adults in their life for guidance and mimic their behavior. When you tell a boy to stop acting like a girl, you are telling him that being a girl is somehow inferior to being a man, and he associates unsatisfactory behavior with being feminine. When his sister hears this, she thinks that her brother acting undesirable is the equivalent of her brother acting like her. It establishes her place as below her brother, and the gender disparity cycle begins, with a simple seven-word statement.

Even if you believe that feminist issues in the Western world are not as relevant anymore (which they are), it is easy to forget that the world is much bigger than one person’s perspective. The horrible truth is that there are countries across the world where women cannot go to school, cannot run for public office, and cannot divorce their husbands (even in cases of rape or abuse). Women in Saudi Arabia cannot even go out in public without a male chaperone. If for some reason you are still doubtful of the legitimacy of feminism in more progressive countries like America, the appalling actions that take place against women across the world should be enough reason alone to consider yourself a feminist.

For my sister, my mother, and every person that has faced or will face gender discrimination, I am a feminist. As author Chimamanda Ngozi said, “feminist: a person who believes in the social, economic and political equality of the sexes.” By this definition, I cannot think of a reason not to be a feminist. Men, do not be afraid of a word because of its feminine implications, be afraid of a world that doesn’t allow you to identify with a word containing feminine implications, and be the positive change that this world needs.