I am 19 years old and identify as a man. Society also considers me a man, based on assumptions that are consciously and subconsciously made about the way I dress, appear, and behave. One could therefore correctly call me a man.

Yet, I identify as a feminist. What does this mean?

Feminism gets a bad reputation. It's associated with a number of harmful stereotypes. Many people claim to stand for gender equality, claim this is a noble pursuit, and claim that they support it. Very few people I know, however, will vocally identify as a "feminist," so what does this word mean? We have to first make a clear definition of the word.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines feminism as:

• "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes"

• "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities"

Dictionary.com defines feminism as:

• "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men."
  

To me, these definitions sound like "equality in our society for all people," or GENDER EQUALITY. The problem is in the negative stigmas associated with people who call themselves feminists. Let's bust some myths. These are words that come to mind in our colloquial English and have been made equivalent with feminism.

Feminists are stereotyped as intimidating, confrontational, angry, pushy, and too outspoken. Stereotyping in general is terrible, but what about all the good words associated with feminism? Suffrage, independence, progressive, driven. These are words that describe a series of movements that have pushed for equality for one half of our population. Feminism isn't just for white women. It's not just middle-class college women. Feminism is a global cause.

One goal of feminism is to eliminate or equalize traditional gender roles. For example, due to my male-ness I am required to be tough, strong, unemotional. That is a completely unfair expectation of me as a person. We are all people whether male, female, or somewhere in between, and we should be free to characterize whatever traits are natural to us. Men are allowed to cry. Women are allowed to be muscular. Society should not exclude us from these things.

Feminists search for a world of truly equal opportunity for the sexes. Ours is a world where women make seventy-seven cents to a man's dollar, with that number being even lower for women of color. Women are great. My mother is one. My sisters are also women. I love them, as I love many other women of all shapes, shades, and sizes. All of them deserve the same opportunities in life that I do.

A final note to any "meninists" out there, who may claim that feminism is about the oppression of men and supports the notion that women are in fact superior: If the advocate says that women are superior, they are not feminists. That's not the purpose of feminism. Feminism is about gender equalization, for men, for women, and for all people on this planet.

Gender equality is essential to a just society. Once there is no more notion of inferiority due to gender, then that will help to normalize transgender people, another oppressed and generalized group of people, of friends, of family. Feminism is a cause that is worth standing for wherever you may fall.

So come on men, STAND UP and be vocal! Feminism is awesome!