Last week I was walking home from the gym, and I was feeling slightly groggy (as workouts have a tendency to do that to me) so I walked over to a coffee shop to grab myself a sugary espresso cappu-latte-iatto-whatever. I got my drink and walked over to the Lid/Sleeve station, and noticed a sign posted on the counter. Turns out not only was their coffee sustainably grown by farmers who were paid well, but the shop's profits also went towards a charitable cause. They were working on mission trips to deliver feminine hygiene products to young women in African villages. In the particular Ethiopian village they had been working with, Kellensoo, most girls were missing over one week of school per month because of their menstruation cycles, and in conjunction with other factors, females thus made up over 50% of the dropout rate (which, considering their minute representation in the classroom, is a big deal).

It was nearly impossible for me to fathom the idea that, while I sit and drink my coffee drink, completely submersed in my comfy cozy lifestyle, that there are women in the world that are debilitated because of their race. Women who are forced to drop out of school because they aren’t given the tools to graduate, to live healthily. Who am I to complain about gender roles, about America’s housewife complex and “patriarchy,” when there are such greater problems facing women around the world every day? These are the problems feminism should be addressing, and yet it seems like modern, western world feminism sees to only a small portion of the greater problem. This is a problem that has been frustrating me since god knows when, and so without further or do, here is my own, itemized, feminist manifesto.

To begin my manifesto, I will say that men are not inherently evil. Men of all races, shapes, and sizes are at fault for a lot of various wrongdoings, this can go without say. But, them aside, there are incredible men in this world, not only going along the path of history but also in all of our everyday lives. One bad egg shouldn’t spoil the bunch, and if such was the case there would be a slurry of comments to be made about women. If we as women don’t want to be belittled, belittling men is far from the solution. The amount of hatred and verbal violence constantly being expelled at men from so many feminists is not only hypocritical but exhausting. In the great words of Dr. King, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that."

Preaching happiness, equality without dominance on either end, is the only way that any of the hard work put in by feminists will ever A) be taken seriously, and B) result in change.

Furthermore, certain priorities must absolutely be straightened out in the modern feminist agenda. Sure, one could focus on The Donald’s blatant misogyny, or instead one could direct their focus towards the sex trafficking system that’s been going on beneath our feet for centuries. The feminist agenda could work towards breaking down a man who, regardless of how many pussy hats are worn, will still be our president and will continue on being a misogynist creep. Or we could fundraise, picket, and sign petitions to work towards getting the thousands of young women (and men, if you’re feeling particularly humanist) out of sex slavery. While one of those issues is boisterously in our faces, every hour of every day, the other is an underlying but much more severe issue, making it easier to forget but in no way lessening its importance. There’s a lot of issues that I feel often take the back-burner on the feminist agenda, and it’s hard for me to consider myself, a woman who loves and supports women, a part of a group where I feel the ranking of issues is completely out of whack.

There’s also something to be said about presentation. It was a major part of the grade on my seventh-grade geography project that 12-year-old me slaved over, but it should continue to be a major part of the feminist agenda. Feminism is supposed to be open to women of all ages, races, and identities. No group of women should ever feel disenfranchised or discomforted by the feminist agenda. Young girls shouldn’t be exposed to rallies where signs can’t be read without censorship. This isn’t a matter of feminism or being lady-like, but just of being generally respectful. When our now president won his campaign on a platform of name-calling and “brutal honesty,” people were shocked. And that’s because, despite those who voted for Donald Trump and thus clearly have no regard for the feminist agenda, the world loves professionalism. Nothing lights a fire in the hearts of an educated, liberal individual like words spoken with respect and poise. It’s important when fighting for a cause that you don’t knock out potential supporters in the heat of the moment, despite how tempting it may be.

And so, despite my often frustrated tone that I take toward describing the feminist agenda, I do hope that women will eventually see universal equality. But in order for this to happen, and for the feminist agenda to prevail, there will have to be more unanimity in the voice of women. All women should support other women, and no this doesn’t exclude Lena Dunham (who is a feminist! Who may not be totally PC all the time, but neither are you — don’t lie! And that doesn’t make her a bad feminist! But instead makes her HUMAN!). Women should support women who wear makeup, and those who don’t, women who shave their legs, and women who let their body hair run rampant. Because when it comes down to it, these solely cosmetic issues are not what feminism should focus on. I may like shaving my legs because they feel soft when I rub them together as I lay in bed. That doesn’t make me less of an advocate for the diminishment of the pay gap, or less aware and willing to help young girls receive a proper education in third world countries.

Feminism isn’t about unshaved armpits, it’s about ungranted rights. Feminism isn’t about rejecting being called pretty, but about embracing each individual for who they are and feeling confident in one’s own skin. And finally, feminism isn’t about Beyoncé, who isn’t a real person and shouldn’t be regarded as a feminist figure, but instead, a corporate robot. Let women be women, let men be men as long as they’re not being bad men, and let your inner humanist shine within, and the world of equality will open up like a flower.