Feminism is becoming an increasingly controversial topic, which is weird considering it's derived from the purest of intentions: helping women to establish equal opportunities in all areas of life. However, the very definition of feminism these days has been taken advantage of by people with malicious intentions looking to attain personal gains. And that's not OK.

What's meant to empower women in the most righteous manner has been redefined by people who simply give their own take, coming up with ridiculous antics like not wearing bras or free bleeding.

Go ahead and try to convince me. I have nothing against women who do these things, and in fact, I applaud them for having such courage.

But let's get one thing straight: Decisions made of your own accord should not be linked with feminism just to justify your own actions.

The main issue with people these days is that they input their own perceptions without giving a second thought to the situation. In turn, that causes unnecessary misunderstandings and arguments among people, ultimately generating undesirable hostilities.

I have witnessed women criticizing and trashing one another over their personal standards of feminism, and it's saddening and demoralizing to watch. What happened to empowering and supporting fellow females?

Gradually, I realized that I didn't want to be a feminist, not with all these negatives and abuses of the term "feminism."

But while I may not be a feminist, there are many issues that require our immediate attention as a society. High among these is the difference in the treatment of both genders, especially when facing the same situation. The commonly known term for this is "double standard."

Double standards for both genders exist in many areas of life, and we may be unknowingly embracing them — even if the values and principles in are entirely wrong.

Despite proclaiming that we are a modern and open-minded society, there are still certain issues about what women can and cannot do.

Men who are dating multiple partners at once would be subjected to some scrutiny. However, when women do this, they're judged and criticized even more heavily. They're also slammed with crude terms like "promiscuous," "slut" or even "whore." On the other hand, men would be simply deemed as "exploring their options."

Since when women should be treated as options? And will we continue to allow such unjust treatment?

Multi-cultural dating is commonplace these days too. However, interracial couples still have it hard, especially the women who face harsher backlash than their partners. This is particularly evident in Asian countries, which have more traditionalist mindsets.

Personally, I have known women who dated outside their race and were judged for being the typical stereotype in the white guy-Asian woman phenomenon: gold-diggers, superficial, weak and submissive. The list of criticisms just goes on and on.

If that were really the case, you would see even more Asian girls with Western guys, which might piss those naysayers even further.

Women are emotional creatures, which is why we get screwed over so easily at times. We can be at such a disadvantage when it comes to relationships. When you love hard, you fall even harder. Money is certainly important, but it is not everything.

The reality is that people fall in love.

When you fall in love, everything else, including racial and cultural differences, takes a backseat. So why are all these women being criticized by outsiders who have zero clue about their relationship? Why do they feel that it's their place to give their opinions?

Love and dating should always be the business of the couple, unless they decide to involve more people in their love affair. Otherwise, mind your own business and just let them live.

Double standards in both genders will always exist in different parts of our lives. The least we can do is to try to be more considerate to people stuck in this cycle.

And no one should be punished for choosing who he or she wants to love.