I am a feminist. I am a woman who believes gender should not be a limiting factor. I am a person who understands that women have been oppressed for centuries, seen as lesser and treated as if we are a different species than man. I am a citizen who sees that our society does not present equal opportunities.

I am a feminist and this does not mean that I hate men. I am not a raging lesbian, but if you are thats perfectly okay. This does not mean that I believe women are better. This does not mean that I look down on women who obtain the right to be a stay at home mom or women who wish to stick with tradition. A feminist is not someone who disrespects anyone that is not a feminist. A feminist is an individual who simply wants to see justice and equality between sexes.

I am only 18 years old and the amount of disrespect, discrimination, and inequality I have felt has left scars that will never fade. I’m not a dramatic girl who needs to grow up and understand boys will be boys. I am a strong woman that has grown up and knows that boys will be boys is the biggest bullshit I have ever heard. High School boys have told me that I shouldn’t have more than two kids because my vagina will become useless and unattractive. I have been told that my height makes people uncomfortable. I have been told that I should talk less because my voice makes men feel emasculated and belittled. “Winona, you’re a girl, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Maybe if you weren’t so strong with your opinions guys would actually want to be around you.” I have been told that I should act like a lady, that the hair on my body makes me ugly, that my manly tendencies will prevent me from being loved.

I got sent to the principal’s office for my outfit in high school. Granted, I was in violation of the dress code. But what my assistant principal told me, made me want to never follow dress code again. He sat me down and explained that I would have to change my clothes or go home because my outfit was a distraction to the boys in my school. He told me that I was disrespected myself and the people around me by my outfit choices. What I heard was that the way the girls in my school dressed was the reason the top 20% of each grade was mostly females. I heard that confidence makes me less of an individual and threatens those around me. My education was less important than the boys ability to focus in class, my education was less important than the sexist standards that he supported. Boys immaturity and ignorance is not my fault. Boys sex centered lives is not women's fault. Instead of telling me to accommodate to

I am a feminist because my body does not define me, because my voice deserves to be heard. I am a feminist because we live in a world that’s blind to the chains on women’s ankles and the muzzles over their mouths. I am a feminist because a man that will sit in the oval office believes it’s okay to grab a women by the pussy. Women deserve the right to walk down the street without being cat-called like we are lost dogs. Women deserve to do whatever the fuck we want without being worried about it being manly. Women deserve equal pay, to be seen as equal, to live without the judgement of our gender.

You don’t have to call yourself a feminist. You don’t have to be a feminist. Be a moral human, recognize the shadow of injustice that never leaves. Want equality, want peace, want love, want freedom.