You know what? I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to explain why feminism benefits our society. I am done with trying to impart my point of view upon someone who is unwilling to listen or understand them. "Isn't feminism something you believe strongly in?" you ask "Don't you believe in tirelessly fighting for something you strongly believe in?" Yes, that is exactly how I feel. However, I am starting to become exhausted with the task of explaining a movement that started over 170 years ago to people who remain completely mystified as to why a woman wouldn't want to raise a family or have a husband.

Recently, Odyssey has featured a multitude of anti-feminist articles on their Facebook page. What upsets me the most about these articles is that they are authored by young women who believe that the feminist movement is something to be vilified, to be thrown into the trash. They vow that they would rather raise a family than a picket sign, which is funny considering that is one of the many things feminism advocates for. Feminists advocate for women to have agency over their lives. Feminists tell women that they have the agency to choose a career or a family, knowing that she will have their full support. Yet, why are they so blind to this fact? Why do they refuse to believe a solid truth?

My sword of blame falls upon conservative news networks (@Fox) and publications that choose to paint feminism as a totalitarian regime which advocates for misandry. They tell their readers, listeners, and viewers that these feminazis desire to be above all, even the law. They tote Planned Parenthood as some sort of evil abortion factory ran by evil feminist witches that seek to "murder" all the unborn children in the world. Because it is a news source, it's patrons accept these viewpoints as their truth. They steadfastly support their oracle of information, believing every liberal news article to be "Fake News" when, sometimes, the news they are consuming is the "Fake News"

I ask my fellow writers at the Odyssey to think critically about this information. Instead of accepting these viewpoints on feminism as an honest-to-God truth, pick them apart. Unpack them and seek to find the fallacies within them, the weak points in their walls. Instead of taking the actions of one militant feminist and transposing their personality upon all feminists, think to yourself about how generalizing that is. We like to think that a group mentality exists, that all members of some movement or religion are all the same, but I have a surprise for you: they're not. Do I agree with all that feminism represents? No. I believe that feminism should work harder to include women of color, trans* women, and disabled women into its narrative. But you see, that's OK! As a feminist, it's important to point out a wrongdoing so that we can fix it and make sure that everyone is welcome to the table.

As a feminist, I believe a woman should have access to affordable birth control. As a feminist, I believe that a rapist deserves more than three months in jail (If you're wondering, Brock the Rapist is doing a-OK. It's not like he traumatized someone or anything). As a feminist, I believe that a woman has a right to choose what happens to her body. As a feminist, I believe that men are forced into an image of toxic masculinity that forces them into being emotionally distant. Do I believe that a woman should be better than men? Do I believe that all women are perfect? no, not at all.

Feminism is about EQUALITY! it's about RESPECT!

As feminist activist and author Virginia Woolf once said: “I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.”

It's time we took Anon out of the shadows and pushed her into the light. It's time we all start being feminists.