“We can tell our story of how we climbed the ladder, and a lot of you younger women think it’s done,” Ms. Albright said of the broader fight for women’s equality. “It’s not done. There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!” - Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

Recently, iconic feminist figures Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright have explicitly encouraged a very constructed mindset that socially undermines women: that women should vote for Hillary simply because she is also a woman.

They’ve received a lot backlash from their statements. There are claims that voting for Hillary because she is a woman violates the very idea of feminism. Some women even have called Ms. Steinem and Ms. Albright sexist.

I’ll be the first to admit I was very offended by their accusations against me as a voter. As a hard core Bernie fan, being told I only support him because men are attracted to his democratic socialist views makes me cringe. Ms. Steinem, I am not a boy-chaser.

Where’s the respect?

However, I get it. I get where they’re coming from.

That being said, Hillary still does not deserve my hard-earned vote.

I was not born in a generation that thought they’d never see a black man be president, let alone a woman.

I haven’t had to fight the long hard fight for equality in politics.

I come from a recession, a war in a country we didn’t belong in in the first place.

I come from a generation that is single-handedly solving world issues. I come from a generation that is redefining technology.

I come from a generation that taught me that I never had to fight for my spot; I just have to beat the boys at their own game.

I come from a time that encourages everyone to participate. Ms. Steinem and Ms. Albright have been in it for the long haul. They’ve wanted to see this to fruition since the beginning, since Hillary’s first run in 2008. It’s so close they can almost grasp it. Me? I will no doubt see a woman as president. I spent my elementary school days insisting that I would be the first. I’ve never had to wonder.

Just because I have the opportunity to see a woman become supreme chief does not mean I have to vote for her.

I do not owe Hillary Clinton anything.

I do not have to pay my dues.

In fact, I do not owe Ms. Steinem or Ms. Albright anything either.

If I do not believe Hillary will run my country well, then I simply won’t vote for her. The fact that she is a woman is the furthest thing from my mind.

But still, Ms. Steinem and Ms. Albright are right. It is our time. There’s no better time for a woman to take charge than right now. But as a young feminist, I am not being disloyal to my kind by choosing to vote for Senator Sanders. I am simply thinking for myself, regardless of gender. I am demanding a leader who embodies the qualities I believe will lead my country and I will feel no guilt for doing so.