sidenote: Listen to "That's My Girl" by Fifth Harmony while you read; it puts you in the mood.

"feminism/ˈfɛmɪnɪz(ə)m/NOUN[mass noun]: The advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes." - Oxford Dictionary

Now a days, the word feminism almost seems as if it were a dirty word. Feminist are looked down upon because people don't truly know what a feminist is. But, we'll save the argument of what an actual feminist is for another time. I am assuming that if you clicked this article, you already know the REAL definition of a feminist and probably think of yourself as a feminist. So, what kind of people should feminists look up to? Of course, we have some of the amazing women who really started the movement: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott. But, who are some women who we can look up to in our modern times? Well...

1. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Beyoncé is one of the most feminist artists in the game. Beyoncé has many of her songs that represent feminism even if it doesn't outright say "I'm a feminist!" i.e. Run the World (Girls), Flawless. Beyonce highlights her perspective on feminism in an interview with Elle magazine by saying, "I’m not really sure people know or understand what a feminist is, but it’s very simple. It’s someone who believes in equal rights for men and women. I don’t understand the negative connotation of the word, or why it should exclude the opposite sex. If you are a man who believes your daughter should have the same opportunities and rights as your son, then you’re a feminist. We need men and women to understand the double standards that still exist in this world, and we need to have a real conversation so we can begin to make changes."

"We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn't reality yet." - Beyoncé

2. Hillary Clinton

The first woman EVER to be a major-party presidential candidate AND the first woman to EVER win the popular vote for a presidential campaign. I don't care if you do not agree with her policies, Hillary is a BOSS. Though she may not have completely shattered the glass ceiling, she put a HUGE crack in it and she is definitely not done yet.

"I believe that the rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century." - Hillary R. Clinton.

3. Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen is a day-time talk show host who regularly makes fun of female stereotypes and shuts them down with her opening monologues. She's taken down commercials like Dr. Pepper with their Dr. Pepper Ten "just for men, it's not for women," Bic pens for women, on the stereotype that women talk more than men, what makes the 'perfect woman,' and so much more.

"Follow your passion, stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else's path unless you're in the woods and you're lost and see a path. By all means, you should follow that." - Ellen Degeneres

4. Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is an advocate for the ability for girls to be able to receive an education. In 2008, she gave a speech titled "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?" In 2009 she began blogging under the BBC about life living under the Taliban's threat of denying education; she used the pen name "Gul Makai" to hide her identity. In 2011 she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize and was also awarded Pakistan's National Youth Peace Prize. In 2012 she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman after they had issued a death threat against her for her activism. But, she survived and even went on to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.

"So here I stand, one girl among any. I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their voice. Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality of opportunity. Their right to be educated." - Malala Yousafzai

5. Emma Watson

Emma is one of the most feminist actresses in our modern day society. She is so much more than just Hermione or Belle. She is constantly shutting down stereotypes and taking down haters. She encourages young women to live up to their potential as well as she is the U.N.'s Goodwill Ambassador for the HeForShe campaign.

"I want men to take up the mantle [of gender equality]. So their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too - reclaim those parts they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves." - Emma Watson

6. Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Most known for being a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a legend. She has been a lifelong advocate and activist for the rights of women and the equality of the sexes. She has been shaking up the norms for decades and keeps breaking through everyone who keeps not only underestimating her, but underestimating all women.

"When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough women on the Supreme Court and I say 'when there are nine,' people are shocked. But, there'd been nine men and nobody's ever raised a question about that." - The Notorious RBG [Ruth Bader Ginsburg]

7. Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy is an American actress who also doubles as a fierce feminist. In an interview Melissa said about women who don't consider themselves feminists, “I always think, ‘Oh, that sounds so dumb.’ And I don’t mean that in a hateful way. It just sounds so ill-informed. Do you think women should be paid less? You don’t believe in equality for women? I think people have worked hard to put a negative spin on the word.” Then when asked about her daughters and body image she said, “Give me your best punch in the face, and I’ll take that punch, rather than have my kid feel bad about herself….There’s an epidemic in our country of girls and women feeling bad about themselves based on what .5% of the human race looks like. It starts very young. My message is that as long as everybody’s healthy, enjoy and embrace whatever body type you have.”

"There is this weird thing about how we perceive women in this country. I would love to be a part of breaking that down." - Melissa McCarthy

8. Michelle Obama

If you ever want to see a real life example of a lady boss, Michelle Obama is your girl. The former first lady had a huge impact on so many different movements for feminists. She is a huge advocate for females getting an education and her initiative, Let Girls Learn as well as an activist to make sure girls know they don't need to only focus on being married or boys. They should compete with the boys.

"There is no limit to what we as women can accomplish." - Michelle Obama

9. J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is the extremely successful author of the Harry Potter series, a film producer, and it is her personal mission to take down Twitter trolls one by one. She is known for shutting down anti-feminist tweets on Twitter. She's shut down men hating on International Women's Day

Happy #InternationalWomensDay

or, as it's often called on here, #WhyIsn'tThereAnInternationalMensDay

(There is: November 19th)
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 8, 2017

As well as she backs up other feminists on Twitter and puts all trolls that come into her @mentions in their place.

"Now, I consider myself to be a feminist, and I’d always wanted to show that just because a woman has made a choice, a free choice to say, ‘Well, I’m going to raise my family and that’s going to be my choice. I may go back to a career, I may have a career part time, but that’s my choice.’ Doesn’t mean that that’s all she can do." - J.K. Rowlikng

10. Nicki Minaj

Nicki is most known for rapping, but she also made a name for herself in the feminist world. She is constantly tearing down the stereotypes and calling out the music industry for being sexist. She doesn't care what anyone thinks, she's going to show what is really going on behind the scenes of music.

"When I'm assertive, I'm a bitch. When a man's assertive, he's a boss." - Nicki Minaj