Feminism, the belief in the political, social and economic equality of the sexes, is a topic that for some reason unbeknownst to me is still being debated. With the recent Women's Marches around the world along with Trump's sexist and inappropriate remarks throughout his campaign, the equal treatment of women in our country and worldwide is an issue that needs to be taken seriously.

Despite some arguments, from people of all sexes, that women are just as equal as men in today's society, evidence shows otherwise. Just because one women doesn't experience direct verbal attacks on her existence doesn't mean that sexism isn't a very big part of our society.

Just because women in America have the right to vote and don't require a male companion doesn't mean that the oppression of women isn't ingrained into almost every aspect of our culture.

Sexism is still very much alive, and it affects girls as young as 6-years-old. A recent study by Lin Bian, a psychologist at the University of Illinois, asked children ages 5 to 7 to identify which photo (out of four photos, two showing men and two showing women) represented the "really, really, smart" person.

The 5-year-olds tended to select a photo that represented their own gender. However, starting at age 6, girls became less likely to attribute brilliance to their own gender, while boys continued to select the photo of a male. In another test, both boys and girls tended to associate girls as "nice" and boys as "smart."

In addition, when given the option between a game meant for "really, really smart" children and a game for children who "try really, really hard," the 5-year-old girls seemed to believe that they were capable of the game for smart children, while girls ages 6 years and older were far more interested in the game for those who tried hard.

As Bian told the Atlantic, "They'd go from being really enthusiastic to saying: 'Oh I don't want to play it, this isn't a game for me."

Throughout their article on this study, the Atlantic addresses the many ways in which this belief that men are more likely to be inherently brilliant than women is seen in our society.

We know (God, I hope we know) that there is no inherent trait that makes men any smarter than women. However, if girls are learning from such a young age that while they can try hard, they simply are not as smart as their male peers, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Girls who are taught, through subtle or obvious messages from their parents, their peers, our media or our president, that they aren't and can't be "really, really smart" are not going to attempt games, programs and other opportunities for "really, really smart" people. They will hold themselves back because they believe that while they can work hard, they can't be really smart.

We can tell ourselves over and over again than men and women are equal, but if a young girl in kindergarten already has the sense that she is more likely to be "nice" while her male counterpart is more likely to be "smart" we cannot deny a societal problem.

This is why we need media representation. This is why we need female role models. This is why we need feminism.

And this is not only true of sexism. When people of color or people who are disabled or people of any other minority group are treated as though they have less potential because of something that they cannot control, we have a problem. Let's address it instead of deny it.

(I would recommend reading the Atlantic's article, linked above. They discuss whether the results of this study mean that we need to be empowering girls to see themselves as just as smart, or teaching boys not to view themselves as better.)