I was recently asked by one of my best friends if I was a feminist. I meant yes, but I said no: not yet, at least. And I tried to find a middle ground to justify why I said that.

I am someone who is very passionate about the ideals of equality. I cringe at the very sight of discrimination and I am charged by my plans to change the institutions that exemplify it.

I cannot fully embrace the feminist movement just yet. I believe in myself as a woman with the capability to do anything a man can do, and I wholeheartedly disagree with the fact that I have to prove my worth, by the way I dress and the syntax I use, in order to get what I want and be respected to the fullest extent I deserve.

I do not believe women of color are represented as well as white women in the feminist movement. I do not believe that the way to achieve equality of the sexes includes the demeaning and hatred of men, or the taking down of men to be equal, if not superior.

I am a white woman who has been represented perfectly in the movement supporting my right to equality to a white man. I have been granted the opportunity to stand up for myself as a woman in the workforce, because I refuse to be looked at as a pretty face. I don’t want to be viewed as someone who doesn’t deserve a position at a Fortune 500 company or the White House because I am not a man, or because my hormones will drive my decision-making. I have the opportunity to prove that assertion to people, but other women do not, and I don’t condone that. I can’t.

If I am to be a feminist, I will be for every woman. I will not favor a white woman over a Latino, black, or Asian woman and I will not support those who do. If I am to be a feminist, I will be to work for the equality of every woman, and to implement motions to make minority women more of a representative population in the feminist movement.

I said no because I meant yes, but I didn’t feel passionate enough to say yes. It didn’t feel right to say yes when I was asked. Maybe I misspoke. I am a feminist. However, I am not as much of a feminist as I am a believer in the equality of everyone. I am a woman, a hard-working woman, but so are my fellow women of color. They are women too. And for some reason, they are not supported as well as white women are.

I am a feminist, and I intend to educate myself on the feminist movement. I want to be sure that everyone who falls under that umbrella is being supported the same way. It is not about disregarding race as something that “doesn’t matter” anymore, but working toward establishing the fact that women of different races are important in society, too. By not talking about it, we are allowing differences to ensue and create a divide between people. It is important not only to establish that women are equal to men, but to establish that women of color are equal to white women in the first place.

The feminist movement can amplify the very things our society does wrong in regard to equality. Women have the capability to fight two things at one time, and I wish that was more encouraged. WOC are directly faced with the problems of being stigmatized as non-white, hormonal people with unorthodox names and uneducated minds. The problem we should address first is the inequality within women and men separately, while simultaneously working to diminish the inequality between men and women.

I think it’s important to recognize the problems minority races face in America. If a woman happens to be non-white, her hardships in society are even worse. These hardships are what pull me away from identifying myself as a full-on feminist. These hardships are what drive my goals to change inequality. These hardships are worth talking about.