I have a strong personality.

On multiple occasions, I have been referred to as "abrasive" which is traditionally a masculine trait. Over the years I have been referred to as "one of the guys", and it's never bothered me. What does bother me, is that we live in a society where we compete with the opposite gender. There is no secret that we're genetically different, we think differently act differently, interact differently and that's okay.

What is not okay is the fact that we can rapidly produce new technologies, write treaties to end wars, land on the moon, and so much more, yet we can't figure out how to interact with the opposing gender.

I fully understand that women have struggled to be treated as equals. I could never comprehend why; however, that didn't make me think any less of men. Instead of saying, "men treat women ____" I chose to change my mindset.

There are men that treat women as objects, there are women that treat men as authority figures, there are submissive women, but there's also submissive men. Some women see themselves as inferior, some men see themselves as inferior. To be blunt, we don't live in a utopian society. There are good men and good women, counter, there are bad men and bad women.

If we want to end hostility, break stigmas and move forward then we need to have conversations that we haven't had before. Writing passive aggressive statuses on Facebook about men being cheaters will not change anything. Saying "All women are crazy" will not make that point valid. In order to be true equals, we have to leave certain mind-sets in the past.

Men should not be expected to treat women differently than they treat men. [Granted, your girlfriend may not want to arm wrestle you.] The same holds true for women, they should not be expected to act passive and weak around men. Yes, it's nice to let a man feel important, but you should not be expecting things from him that he wouldn't expect from you.

Newsflash: You're allowed to make more money than your husband and it's okay if you're husband is more nurturing than you are. Gender is such an abstract concept, but instead of fearing it we need to embrace it. At the end of the day, we're all human. They have the same basic needs, why can't we show each other the same respect?

Ladies, we'll get there, but let's not lose sight of what feminism really is. It isn't about hating men, demanding to be treated as precious cargo, or about being "above men". Feminism is about equality, complete equality. Gentlemen, don't be afraid of the word "feminist. You're not effeminate for being a feminist and if you're afraid to stand with feminism because of the name, then you're part of the problem. Though the term feminist may sound very "anti-men", that isn't what it is in the slightest.

Before you are male, female, black, Hispanic or white, you are human. As humans, we have things that make us different, but that shouldn't divide us. For whatever reason, we let our anatomy define our role(s) in society, and to me, that's such primitive thinking.