Growing up, I was taught in schools that even though I am just as smart as any male peer, people like me (i.e. women) do not go into science as often. Growing up, I was taught that I would never be as tough or as strong as any man. Growing up, I was taught that being a woman meant that I wasn't going to make it as far as men, I wouldn't be as tough as men, I wouldn't be in the science field with men. I was told I should focus on my appearance rather than trying to learn more than I needed to. I was told that there was no way I could no more about a car or a gun or astronomy than a fellow male student.

I grew up in a school system that told me from the start that I may not be equal to a man. I grew up in a school system that believed that any member of LGBTQ+ will not be as equal as a straight person. I grew up in a school system that time and time again proved to me that I needed to be more. I needed to excel more. I needed to change more.

Feminism, to me, is the belief that equality must exist among everyone, regardless of their identity or preferences. This includes the belief that I be treated the same in a court of law. If I committed the same crime as a man, I deserved the same punishment. If my significant other and I decided on a divorce and they are as equally good at parenting, they deserve the same amount of custody. Feminism is not about any preference or identity gaining a one-up on the others. It is about equality. I should have the same rights as a straight woman and a straight man. A person of color deserves the same rights I, and any other Caucasian person, has. A trans-man or trans-woman deserves the same rights as a cis-gender person.

Now, before someone starts bringing up "the wage gap is a myth" or "men do harder work", let me remind you of The Equal Pay Act. In the Valparaiso Law Review, it states that the Court has determined that by "equal work", they do not mean identical. Rather, the work must be equal by substance. For instance, in Schultz v. American Can Co. - Dixie Products, the company tried to argue that the wage gap between women and men in their factories is because men were typically lifting the products. However, the Eighth Circuit determined that "the lifting duties were minor and and incidental," and overall, the work of the men and women were, by all means, equal. Moreover, according to Brandon Gaille, The LGBT community earns as little as $0.68 to the dollar of a heterosexual person. In 2013, when advocates asked about protection for LGBT members under the Equal Pay Act, Speaker of the House John Boehner was quoted as saying he "didn't see a basis or a need for it".

Some of you Nay-Sayers may be saying at this moment, "so feminism is basically saying that, regardless of your knowledge or level of education, everyone deserves to pay the same". In which I say, quite frankly, that is extremely wrong on all counts. The Equal Pay Act is established as: "[containing] a clause stating that an employer will not be considered to have violated the Equal Pay Act if the pay differential between men and women employees is "pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any factor other than sex..". Basically, you will be paid more if you have earned the merit to do so. But gaining merit and gaining equal pay isn't all that we are worried about. Termination based on sexual identity is legal in 31 states, while 32 countries still do no have laws protecting trans men and women.

Basically, I am trying to express is that feminism is wanting the equality everyone deserves. Some may not believe in the wage gap but, as proven, companies still try to get away with it. I refuse to allow the next generation to feel like they cant accomplish things just because of their identity or their sexual preferences or for being who they are. You are not any lesser because you are a trans man or woman. You are not any lesser because you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. You are not any lesser because you are a woman. I am a feminist. I believe in equality, and you should too.