Recently, I came across an article titled, "I Am A Female And I Am So Over Feminists". I clicked on it, hoping that maybe the author was using the title as "clickbait", and was going to proceed to write a nice and empowering article about women and feminism. I was wrong. And while everyone is entitled to their own opinions, it is hard to stand idly by when the opinions shared explain an ignorant, wrong and wholly misinformed idea of what feminism actually is.

I relate to this author, as I used to identify as an "anti-feminist" myself. I thought women should quit their whining, realize that they have it pretty good and stop victimizing themselves. I made fun of the popular hashtag #YesAllWomen, encouraged women to take cat calls as a compliment, and even made a presentation about why feminism is outdated and useless in today's society. Yes, feel free to despise past me. She had a lot to learn.

The author begins by saying her inspiration came from a man, and added "God forbid, a man has ideas these days", insinuating that feminism's goal is to hush all men and become superior. From the get-go, this article is defining feminism as a push for dominance rather than a push for equality. After a paragraph about gender inequality in athletics, the author proceeds to say, "women have never been more respected". And sure, maybe that is true. But is progress the same as equality? Does the fact that it is better than it used to be provide reason to stop fighting for it to become better? That's unreasonable in any other context. What if at one point in history, someone just said, "what's the point in improving further upon medicine? Our life expectancy has already increased to 38! People have never lived longer!" Or what if rights for black people just ended after slavery was abolished? African Americans have never been more free!

Respect, something that is fairly unmeasurable by all accounts, being at an all-time high does not mean we should all just hang it up and end our pursuits. Not to mention, respect for women isn't really all that high! Nearly 1.3 million American women experience rape or attempted rape annually. 3 women are murdered daily from domestic abuse. A woman is beaten every 9 seconds in the U.S. There's an entire website called whenwomenrefuse.tumblr.com that has compiled news stories of women killed, beaten or assaulted because they turned down a man. Unless that's your ideal level of respect for women, unless you are pleased with those statistics, the assertion that women currently have it better than they've ever had it before shouldn't mean sh*t.

Further, you're right. Women do have a lot of rights in the United States. But feminists aren't just concerned about the United States. Prominent feminists are constantly seen raising awareness of child bride epidemics, the horrors of Female Genital Mutilation, and sex trafficking that happens both domestically and abroad. Feminists don't just care about women in the United States, they care about women everywhere. The statement that women in the United States have more rights than anywhere else assumes that feminism has boundaries and is not concerned and actively doing their part against discrimination overseas.

The author then goes in to the classic anti-feminist rant about how feminism is anti-chivalry and how we find it a sign of disrespect for men to pick up the check or hold open the door. The whole section is simply unfounded claims based on the outdated ideal of feminists being hairy, man-hating, anti-marriage, lesbians who are entirely autonomous and consistently parade that they don't need a man. This is an entirely incorrect view of what feminism is as a whole. And while there are feminists who don't shave and some who are lesbians and some who don't want to get married, that outlook of feminism is wholly misinformed. Feminists generally don't care if you pay for a meal or hold the door for them or kill a spider for you. Feminism isn't an attack on chivalry.

And then, in classic anti-feminist fashion, we move into the wage gap. Women are doing a "kick-ass job", but why should we stop our complaining? You said you "understand the concern in regard to money and women making statistically less than men do"... If you understand it, why aren't you outraged? Once again, why does it matter that we have made great strides if those strides have still not lead to equality? Of course we are complaining! White women make statistically less than white men, but don't forget about black women or Hispanic women, who make even less. There's no reason to settle when, at our highest, we are only 78% of the way to equality.

The last paragraph sums up the author's views on feminism flawlessly. "However, I don't believe that being a female entitles me to put down men and claim to be the dominant gender." And I suppose this entire article could have just said, "the goal of feminism isn't to put men down and become superior", because that seems to what the author's largest aversion to feminism is.

Women have made incredible strides, and continue to do the same. But strides are not enough. Yes, women have the same rights as men. We can vote, we can hold jobs, we can own land. However, that doesn't mean equality. Women are still cat-called in the streets as if we are meat. Women are still raped, assaulted and beaten at disgusting rates. Women are forced into marriage before adolescence, and sold as sex slaves across the entire world. Trans women are murdered at alarming rates. Legislation is attempting to prevent women from having abortions, even when their lives are at risk. Women having the right to vote does not make better the fact that women are scared to walk alone at night or refuse giving their phone number out to a stranger. We have made incredible strides, but strides are not enough. At its core, feminism is about equality. And until we have reached that, all across the world in all possible facets, we will not stop striding.