No, the term feminism isn’t a term made by millennials. The word started getting used in English in the 1890’s and began slowly increasing in popularity in the 1980’s. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term feminism has two definitions; 1: “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” and 2: “organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”

Feminism. A word meant for equality, change, and progress.

However, it is a word frequently associated with hatred, anger, and senselessness.

There are many celebrity women who are opening up about being feminists like Emma Watson, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lawrence and even Taylor Swift.

There were a lot of feminist marches and movements in 2017. In fact, the Women’s March was held one day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Millions of women from around the world gathered to show the government that they would not tolerate threats to their rights including immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion and workers’ rights.

Women are speaking up against and calling out those accused of sexual harassment and assault. I’ve heard this question before many times on the news, “Why do these women wait so long to report their sexual assault? Many years have passed so why tell anyone now?” Maybe because they were scared of what could happen, maybe they were threatened that if they told anyone they could lose their job, maybe their minds

There’s a huge push for equal pay. Everyone from actresses in Hollywood to women everyday minimum-wage jobs have taken up this fight for equal pay. While this isn’t a new topic, it definitely seems to have been made more public in 2016 and 2017. Did you know that the actors of the ‘Big Bang Theory’ took a pay cut for women’s equality in 2017? It was made public that the five original cast members were making one million dollars an episode while Mayim Balik (Amy) and Melissa Rauch (Bernaddate) were only getting paid one hundred thousand dollars an episode for the same work. Don’t try to tell me the gender wage gap isn’t real.

These are the type of things that feminists fight for. Are you fighting for these things?

-I believe that men and women should be equal.

-I don’t use the phrase “hey guys” when referring to a group of people that includes men and women.

-I think it’s important to encourage girls to pursue science and math as a career.

-I believe it’s important to encourage women to negotiate.

-I believe females should have equal pay.

-If I had a daughter, I would encourage her to be anything she wanted to be. And I would make it clear to my daughter from an early age that her identity should never be defined by her relationships or her choice of career.

-I would be equally excited to have a son or a daughter.

-I believe it’s important to compliment a women’s intelligence as well as her looks.

-In an instance of sexual assault against a female, I am inclined to believe the assaulted victim is telling the truth until proven otherwise.

-I believe that women should be able to dress however they want without society telling them what is acceptable and what is not.

-I think we should stop promoting models as the ideal female body type.

-I think we should stop photoshopping women’s bodies in the media.

-I think companies and businesses should offer more child-friendly time and programs for women who are having/have children.

-I believe that a woman should be offered the same opportunities for promotions as male co-workers do.

-I believe that women should have easy access to birth control.

-I think women have more of a responsibility than men to help and encourage other women to pursue their goals and dreams.

-I think women are equally capable of men to be the president of the United States.

-I have never criticized a woman for not wearing makeup or wearing too much makeup.

-I have never criticized a woman on her outfit or her choice of clothing.