Dear Author,

The first time I read your article, I was certain I would never respond to it. You have your own platform for your own opinions and I have my platform for mine.

Yet, as I see Odyssey reposting your article over and over again, I find it harder and harder to hold my tongue. This time, when I saw your article on my screen, I couldn’t help myself not to reply.

Before I begin, I’d like to reiterate that you are more than welcome to share your own opinion. In fact, ironically enough, feminism gives us both the ability to choose what to do.

It gives you as much right to reject feminism as it gives me the right to defend it. It’s not your choice to reject feminism that I have qualms with; it’s either the ignorance of facts or the sheer rejection of it.

You start your article with the use of the word “triggered” and then link the definition to the “know your meme ” website. Funnily enough, the word "triggered" is becoming a meme in itself and therefore shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Your first sentence, “A man told me to have a good day… I’m triggered." is a good example of the jokes that predominantly preteen boys make.

I’ll be the first to admit that there is a radicalized group of feminists who use this word like it’s going out of style. Yet a surplus of trigger warnings isn't worthy of a punchline.

Do you ever see a warning before a TV show, “This might be unsuitable for certain audiences for whatever reason”, or have a teacher warn you about heavy themes before reading a book? We don't intentionally expose rape victims to graphic rape scenes, do we? Or show kids violent media? The fact is most times these “radicalized trigger warnings” is common courtesy.

After this opening, you go on this rant about you being better than 90% of men, which is alarming, to say the least. But, for argument’s sake, men make up roughly 50% of the population.

You are saying that you are better than 45% of the population just because of their gender alone, which admittedly is wildly pro-female. But ironically it makes you sound like the crazed feminist you detest so much.

Then you completely turn your article around and say that men are physically stronger than females because they can lift 190 pounds. You say that women are not able to do such a thing no matter how they try.

But it’s pretty obvious there’s both men and women who are in the anomaly. If you don’t believe me, here’s a compilation of multiple women lifting their fair share of weights. And luckily for us, if you want to see a man fail to do so, you don’t have to leave your comfort zone of men that you know.

Interestingly enough, you jump to the fourth wave of feminism: the actual root of your distaste of modern-day feminism. Yet again, you don’t quite understand the dynamics of feminism.

It’s about anti-sexual harassment, to close the feminization of poverty and to tackle modern-day issues, not just “girls who hate men and stomp around with no shirts to piss off the public.”

Seriously, what feminist have you met?

Afterwards, you go on a rant about politics that most feminists are leftists who hate Trump and all feminists hate Republicans. I hate to tell you that you can be a Republican and a feminist.

I won’t lie; at first, I couldn't picture a proud Republican feminist that I knew. But then again I'm surrounded by those gosh darn "feminists leftists". I can tell you that there really are proud feminist Republicans that you can relate to.

I can assure you that plenty of feminists aren’t all hipsters who think that it’s cool to hate Donald Trump and hang out on Twitter all day.

I can assure you that every feminist has the ability to surprise you in some small way.

In fact, I can assure you that you more than likely have more feminist attitudes than you would like to believe.

At the end of the article, you say that women need to stand up for what they believe in. You add this fact with a “but” and another rant about keeping females in their places to make the world go round.

But, rant aside, you said that you think women need to stand up for what they believe in. I know this article isn’t going to change your mind. I know that if you ever read this, you are going to have a plethora of complaints I hope you voice in the comments section.

But remember that within the same breath that you use to deny feminism, you accept its benefits to speak openly and freely like any man can.

Sincerely,

An 18-year-old feminist