“Why are you a feminist?”

I get it all the time, people asking me why I’m a feminist.

“Don’t you know that feminists are all man-haters?”

I hear this a lot too. When I was 15, a substitute teacher was told by my classmates that I was a feminist. He then proceeded to call me a man-hater and place me in the back of the class where I, a young woman with not so great eye sight, had trouble seeing the board. When I asked to be moved back to my original seat, he accused me of wanting special treatment because I was a girl.

So, why am I a feminist?

Well, first, let's cover what a feminist is.

A feminist is a person who believes in the social, political and economical equality of the sexes.

So, now that we’re all clear on the definition of the term, does it make more sense that I, or anyone else, would be a feminist?

But, being a feminist is not just about the push for equality in the things that benefit women (pay, jobs, etc.), it is about pushing for total and complete equality, even in things that may not be so great.

Did you know that as of October 2016, women are still not included in the draft? Or how about that if a mother pushes for complete custody of a child she is more likely to be granted it than the father, even if he is better suited to raise a child? Or, even that women tend to get lighter prison sentences than men for the same crimes?

These are issues that tend to be ignored by most women who are self-proclaimed “feminists”. Not me, though. I want equality.

I want to be included in the draft, not because I’m eager to be ripped from my home to fight the next big war, but because it is unfair to my male counterparts for me not to be included in the draft simply because I am a female.

And, one day, should I have a child, I want them to be raised by the best parent available, regardless of that parent's gender.

And, should I commit a crime, I fully expect an adequate prison sentence that would match up with that of a man who committed the same crime, because my gender should not matter in a court of law.

I don’t want special treatment because I am a woman.

I simply want to be treated as an equal to my male counterparts.

Yes, I want to be paid the same amount of money for the same work. I want people to stop sexualizing me as soon as I start to grow a pair of noticeable boobs. I want to be allowed to play in the same sports as men without any of them being afraid to hit me or tackle me because I might “break”.

I don’t want to be viewed as a docile being who is incapable of committing a crime or waging war and is better suited to be raising a child.

I don’t want my male counter parts to be degraded for showing emotion. I want them to be as free to feel and love and cry as I am, because regardless of their gender, they are human too!

I am a feminist because I don’t believe that sex or gender should have any say on who I am or what I am capable of.

I am a feminist not because I want special treatment because of my gender, but because I want equality despite it.