It is always amazing to me that so many people in my life don't believe there are social, cultural, economic, and political differences between boys and girls. Sure, we have definitely progressed a lot since our grandparents' generation, but we still have a long way to go.

To prove that gender inequality still exists today (or is simply just something we choose to ignore), I asked 10 girls one simple question: Can you think of a time when you were treated differently because of your gender? I didn't give any more specifics, I just wanted to see if there was any truth to the notion that feminists become "triggered" by boys' politeness.

So, if you came to this article as a doubter, as someone who thinks feminism still should be a dirty word, you decide whether the gender hierarchy exists, or whether us "hysterical females" are making it up.

1. Gym-timidation

"I get so sexualized when I go to the gym. You go and see that all the girls are on the treadmills and all the boys are lifting weights, and if you go get in their way, it's like they're staring at you, thinking you want attention because you're wearing shorts, when really it's just the comfiest way to get in a workout. Why can't we just go to the gym without being judged?"

2. Wandering gazes

"I feel afraid walking in the middle of the day with people around me because I can see people staring or looking at my boobs or butt, and I'm in public. So, if they try anything, I can't say anything, and I just feel violated on my way to class when I literally just want to go learn."

3. Fashion fears

"There's a lot of paranoia that comes with being a girl; like I don't dress particularly fancy or anything, so I'm constantly wondering if boys don't talk to me because of how I dress."

4. Constant awareness

"We have to walk around with pepper spray and not listen to music, which is a constant reminder of what it's like to be a girl on a college campus. I know I have to be constantly aware of everyone around me, but I wouldn't if I was a boy."

5. Step aside

"It's even present when I'm walking on the sidewalk. If I am trying to get around a girl, or even just walk past a girl, we both move to our side of the sidewalk to give the other some room. But I hate when I pass a guy. Even if we make eye contact, he will take up the middle of the sidewalk so I have to walk on the grass. As a girl, it is ingrained in us since birth that we should move out of the way to give boys the priority, and it shows, even on my commute to classes."

6. The double standard

"Girls are constantly being slut-shamed, sometimes just for being seen talking to a guy or two. But if I guy is seen talking to or is in a picture next to a pretty girl, he gets a pat on the back."

7. Don't feel safe alone

"It's just disappointing to live in a world where I don't feel safe to walk by myself on a beautiful night or run in the mornings for exercise, but I am too scared because sexual assaults happen every day, and at Miami it's a huge problem. So I know that many people treat girls differently walking home alone versus a guy walking alone for the right reasons, but it is saddening to me that I live in a world where I don't feel safe to do the things I love and even just to walk somewhere. I know it's for safety reasons, which is totally understandable, but it's sad."

8. Unrecognized authority

"Sometimes as an RA, when I'm handling conflicts among guys, like a noise violation, I feel like they don't take my authority as seriously as they do for the male RAs. I can think of a few times when I've been on duty rounds with a guy RA and we tell a room of guys to be quiet, and they only address my coworker as if I'm not even there or as if they don't realize I'm an RA too."

9. So do you have a boyfriend yet?

"I've always gotten the sense that someday I will have to pick between my career and my family or love life. Whenever I go to family reunions, the first question is always whether or not I have a boyfriend, not how I'm doing in school. That comes as an afterthought. And I'm always getting told what kind of man I should date, how he has to treat me, when at the same time my whole family is laughing over the fact that my male cousin is dating multiple girls at the same time. How am I supposed to find that good, gentlemanly boy if the same people who are telling me that I should date boys like that are raising boys that are the opposite?"

10. Objectification

"The first thing that comes to mind when I think of feeling gendered on campus is definitely being objectified. I'd say on a daily basis I feel like men around campus and uptown look at me in ways that never make you feel good. And it doesn't seem to matter the situation. I can be walking to class in the middle of the day or walking around with my boyfriend, and regardless I always find myself being looked at. Also, I don't have a specific example of this, but there's definitely a degree to which I don't feel like my studies or education are taken as seriously as the men on Miami's campus. Even something as simple as saying I'm majoring in English and women's studies makes people look at me as if I'm wasting my time in college, and I'm frequently given the 'well, what are you going to do with that degree?' question that I don't think men are ever given.

"And also I feel very aware of my identity as a woman when I think about Miami's resources. We have a women's center, but almost no one knows about it. My program as a WGS major is under consideration to be cut because the administration doesn't consider it to be important enough. Little things like this are a constant reminder that the university doesn't consider women and the resources that benefit them."

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And though we could choose to believe that these women are exaggerating or sensitive, the truth is these toxic standards that we as a society have set and expect women to live up to are harmful to men too. As many male students have pointed out, and as the new craze for "dad bods" also implies, we set impossible standards for men as well that are rooted in our belief that they must be better, stronger, tougher, and less emotional than everyone else in the room. But the reality of the matter is, alpha males and the structures that make them are dangerous and unfair to everyone. It is most certainly not a man's fault that he is looked at in a different and often "better" way than a girl, but it also isn't a girl's responsibility to cater to the systems that tell her she is inferior or must act, dress, or look a certain way. No, the sexes aren't equal, but culture is an ever-changing concept, and maybe, just maybe, by people coming to realize that there is a disparity here, we can start making more efficient and more egalitarian changes.