I consider myself a strong feminist, but when I was put in a dangerous situation, I moved closer to a man. What's that about?

Ever since I was a little kid, I was extremely independent, especially when it came to issues between men and women. I always wanted to do what the boys were doing no matter what, I thought that the only difference between us was our internal organs.

I remember a moment in 5th grade when I desperately wanted to play soccer with the boys just to show them that I could. I didn’t even like soccer that much but, because they kept saying how girls can’t play with the boys, I wanted to prove them wrong.

I joined the game and played for a solid 30 seconds before someone slammed me on the ground and I got a big gash in my knee. That was the end of my soccer career and my days of trying to prove that girls could do anything that boys could.

From that day on, I would fight from the background, feeling as though I didn’t have to prove myself anymore because they would learn eventually when it was them on the ground, instead of me.

Now, as a current 20-something living in Manhattan, I am constantly faced with sexual inequality. And I stand up against it.

A couple weeks ago I went ice skating with my friends and one of the men working the ice rink told me to put my purse down because it was not allowed on the rink; valid. But then he ruined his authority and his completely valid request by ending the sentence with the infamous “sweetie”.

I quickly responded, “excuse me, I am not your sweetie or anyone’s sweetie.”

He stood there for a second, stunned, before skating off to find someone else to boss around. Fairly certain that he learned his lesson because he did not tell me what to do for the rest of the evening, and I didn’t put my purse down.

Fast forward to this morning. I was waiting on the platform of the Q train, waiting to take the express to Union Square so I could get my homework done for the day. As I was waiting with the other lazy non-walkers, there was a very clear drunken man who kept pacing back and forth over the platform. Very clearly intoxicated and already causing a ruckus by walking in a straight line and making everyone move out of the way for him, he decided to come up to me and walk a few feet, then turn around about four times. By the third time, I found myself very quickly moving over to the nearest man, sub-consciously. And with one swift movement, the nearest man also made his way to standing in front of me, blocking me from the drunk man.

I was scared. And that was rare for me. I never am one to get scared in those situations, I typically keep walking or stand up for myself. But in that moment, I went back to the nature that I fight against every day- depending on a man for support and protection.

This idea is supported in all of the early disney movies, infiltrating our young little girl original thoughts. There's Sleeping Beauty, a woman who needs a kiss from a prince in order to wake up, same with Snow White. And don't even get me started on Cinderella. All of these movies that became modern day themes, taught little girls that they needed a man in order to be supported. So although we grew up and can call ourselves feminists, our actions speak louder than words in some instances.

This brings me to the question of, are we, women, so deeply taught that men should be our protectors; our prince charming’s that we forget what we so firmly believe in in a moment of crisis? Are we supposed to just let the man save us when we are in distress?