This past Thursday, August 18, 2016, the fitness community was abuzz at one tweet by a former contestant on the 2016 season of "The Bachelorette."

There was an overwhelming response from many women that are in the fitness industry. Bikini competitors, cross-fitters and even men that consider fitness their passion. There was an extreme amount of backlash to his very, IMO, ignorant and misinformed tweet. Members of the fitness community even started their own hashtag; #TryAgainChad. Nearly 48 hours later, there are still people posting using this hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and even Tumblr. If this guy wanted to make himself look like an ass, he sure did a pretty good job.

Being a "fitness feminist" myself, I had my own opinions about his tweet and it really got my brain working. Now, I'm not going to go on and say this guy is a dick, but rather, I wanted to point out his naivety. He doesn't even recognize how he is not only oppressing women into looking a certain way, but he is also adding to the belief that men must all like the same things, and look and act a certain way.

Let me explain.

No matter what anyone says, men are oppressed in many ways in our patriarchal society. They are constantly told they have to "act like a man," whatever that means. They are told they have to be ripped and have six pack abs and have a ton of muscle mass. Yes, they too, are expected to look a certain way, just as women are. They are expected to act a certain way and to not "act like a girl." Men are hurt by the patriarchy just as much as women are.

To me, this is why we need feminism. I'm really sick and tired of hearing both men and women attacking feminism, as if it's some sort of poison. As if there isn't anything wrong with the way we hand off gender roles and gender expectations in Western culture. I am sick and tired of seeing so many of the men that I'm close to suppress their emotions just because they are told they aren't allowed to feel anything. I'm sick and tired of men being told they have to provide. I'm sick and tired of men being told they aren't a "real man," unless they look a certain way. It has effected an endless amount of my relationships and I know I'm not the only one.

Some men don't fully grasp the concept of feminism, and I can understand that. A lot of proclaimed "feminists" give feminism a bad name. In reality, feminism is for both men and women. It says "No one has to fit into these very ill-defined expectations just because society tells you to." It breaks women from the oppression that a lot of men put on us, and it breaks men from the oppression they feel from the society as well.

I think in a lot of ways, men feel out of control when it comes to choosing how to look or how to act. They aren't allowed to "feel," so they feel the need to micromanage what women do to mirror that. To feel in control of something, and we just so happen to be a stone's throw away. Now that's just a theory of mine, not necessarily true. But I can say without a doubt, we are all oppressed in some form.

Men, knocking feminism won't prove a point, it will just solidify that are you OK with conforming to who society is telling you to be. It's agreeing that men are supposed to look and act a certain way, and women are supposed to do the same. It's agreeing that you aren't allowed to show your feelings or be an emotionally vulnerable human being. It's saying that women are only good for their bodies and that they aren't allowed to have blossoming intellect or a rewarding career.

Dissing feminism doesn't help any of us. So, instead of jumping onto the #Meninist bandwagon, do some research. Study what feminism is really about. Because when you put it into perspective, us feminists are really just humanists. We want equality, not superiority.