This past week, what many deemed impossible about a year ago actually happened in front of the whole world. Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America. Some of you who read that last sentence didn’t respond well to it. That’s understandable considering that his campaign was built on hate and discrimination towards racial minorities and other marginalized people. A lot of people, like myself, opted out of watching the inauguration as a form of self care. I needed time to reflect on how the next four years would affect me as a black woman and an international student in the US. I’m spending the month working an internship abroad and it’s dawning on me that the country I’m going back to won’t feel the same ever again.

While I was processing all of it, many people around the world decided that they would speak up. Why was this a big deal? On every continent, protesters stood in solidarity with each other and vowed that, for the next four years, they would work tirelessly to stand up for intersectional feminism and refuse to turn the other cheek when it comes to the oppression of marginalized people.

Now you’d think people wouldn’t have a problem with it, right? Wrong. You’d think that all women would be for it. Wrong again. My Twitter feed this week was littered with responses to the Women’s March. Some of them leaped to defend men and urging women to show the men in their lives as much love as possible. That’s all well and good but it left me with this question: Who was saying couldn’t do that anyway? Who said you had to stop showering your man with affection? Who said you had to stop making your sons feel loved and nurtured? Clearly, the whole point of the protests went over a lot of people’s heads so I’m going to attempt to break down this entire misunderstanding.

Here’s what some of the reasons for the Women’s March and feminism weren’t and are not:

1. We don't march for the right to compete with men.

You only think that because you assume men are the standard. True feminism doesn’t seek to compete with another gender but seeks only to feel complete within one’s own gender.

2. We don't march because we hate men.

We march against all forms of hate against people based on their gender. That hate could come from anyone; it’s not just limited to men. Now I know there’s gonna be someone in the comments who will say “What about feminists who say men are trash?” or “Not all men are like that.” That opens a whole other discussion that I don’t have time to lay out in this article. Instead, you can read more about it here. If you’re going to be critical of feminist speech, at least take the time to do your homework and understand what you’re opposing. Stop assuming that anyone who is anti-misogyny doesn’t have positive, healthy relationships with the men in their lives.

3. We're not protesting being housewives.

You think feminism and being a housewife are mutually exclusive because of white feminism.

4. We don't march for the suffragettes.

They were racist. If it's not for ALL women, we're not about it.

Don't believe me? Read for yourself here and here.

"Susie got your number and Susie ain't your friend"

5. We're not forcing anyone to want abortions.

We just believe it should be an individual choice. We'd actually like to prevent people being in situations where they need these abortions. Have you stopped to think that sex education and birth control could prevent abortions? Not banning safe abortions. If you don’t want an abortion, don’t get one.

6. We don't advocate just for women.

We recognize how other genders are being oppressed.This oppression includes but is not limited to: sexual assault, domestic violence & wage discrimination. These crimes are committed and suffered by all genders.

7. We don't march because we "don't wanna be unique and set apart" as a gender.

The movement is set up so that gender expression is a personal outpouring of one's own self awareness and self reflection. Gender expression differs due to racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. It should be celebrated in all forms. Also, may I remind you that eurocentric dictations of gender expressions that were imposed on the whole world and that’s problematic for many minority cultures. Here’s an example of that.

8. We don't march so that men end up jobless and at home with the kids “against their own will”.

The fact that I have to explain this one makes my head hurt. The problem is women will work the same position and the same hours but we're paid less because somehow y'all decided our work is worth less. The problem is that we get called "bad mothers" and "bad wives" for trying to put food on the table. The problem is that women are held back from even applying from certain positions. The list goes on and on. The other problem is that some people cringe at the thought of stay-at-home dads. The problem is that you think there's something wrong with a father taking care of children that are HIS. We're not "burdening them". It’s their job. Stay-at home parents, we see you and we love you. Working parents, we see you too and we love you just as much.

The truth is that different couples will tackle life differently when it comes to breadwinning and they have the right to decide for themselves what is best for their families.

10. We don't march because we think "our womanhood is a burden".

We march to celebrate it. Our only burden is having to explain why women should be loved, respected and celebrated at all times.

11. We don't march just because of men.

I still can’t figure out how the focus of this march was interpreted as “angry women who are upset about the existence of men”. It’s literally called a women’s march. Another reason we need feminism is because you automatically assumed that this is all about how we feel about men...........

Intersectional feminism is designed to cater all people, even men.

Intersectional feminism is based on the concept that all people regardless of gender, race and all other identities should be respected. It's fundamentally just a movement that says "you don't have the right to disrespect people". It's honestly all just common human decency. But since it ain't that common, we had to come up with a fancy term like "intersectional feminism". So the only thing I ask is for you to stop posting rebuttals to the movement that talk about how much you love your men. Some people have legitimate problems and concerns like... I don’t know….their livelihood?? If your biggest "threat" is thinking feminism will stop you from staying home to bake a pie, YOUR PRIVILEGE IS SHOWING.

Now, I’m aware that this list doesn’t cover all the issues but it’s only my first article. If I pour out every thought in my mind on this one piece, I wouldn’t able to write new articles for you every week. This piece may or may not reflect the views of some intersectional feminists. I honestly can’t speak for everyone. I do urge you all to have discussions about feminism and what it really means. Stop to do your research before you retweet and share. Whichever side of this conversation you decide to be on is your choice but be sure to fully understand why you're on that side.