The debate surrounding the censorship of male and female body parts is nothing new to the world of social media. I saw the height of this argument about a year ago with the "Free the Nipple" campaign and its response to Instagram's censorship policies. As many know, Instagram's rules allow for a male to post a topless photo, but a woman is required to always keep her nips covered. Sort of unfair, I suppose, but that's how it's always been. Many take this rule as being indicative of a gender bias present not only in the realm of Instagram but in society as a whole. Thus, the "Free the Nipple" movement (which has existed since 2013) began to trend as celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and Rihanna decided to take a stand.

Now, I've never struggled with Instagram or Facebook's censorship policies due to my own personal preferences of what I keep covered. I'm very much a "let the people do what the people want" type of gal (assuming, of course, no one gets harmed). If you wanna bare it all, go for it. If it's not your thing and you don't want to see others topless, that's why we have the ability to block. Seems simple, right?

Everything was fine and dandy until I began to hear that this censorship movement was being tied to feminism. As a growing feminist (read "feminist," not "feminazi"), my eyebrows rose upon hearing this. I had a very clear image of what feminism looked like in my head, and a nipple campaign did not fall into those guidelines.

My feminism was (and still is) rooted in the fight for all of the women of the world to obtain true equality with their male counterparts (as it is for the vast majority of feminists). At the time, I was particularly interested in aiding women that remained physically oppressed in developing countries. I wanted to see the end of forced marriages and severely unequal pay in regions where women are traditionally viewed as second-class citizens. I wanted to bring these countries to the "21st century" in terms of equality.

When I saw the buzz surrounding the "Free the Nipple" campaign I grew quite ticked.

My anger was a slow simmer at first, growing hotter with each trending article on BuzzFeed. Many were saying that the changing of censorship policies was a huge step down the path of gender equality. Celebrities were backing it and the movement was becoming sensationalized. What I viewed as a tedious little side-issue was becoming one of the main stages for the battle for equality in the U.S.

But they're just nipples, right? In what universe is it more important that we talk about censorship policies rather than injustices that severely impact people's lives? I was baffled. Dumbfounded. And the more I thought about it, the more enraged I became (and the most self-centered questions I began to ask).

Was my feminism a joke to these people? Did they seriously think that by gaining the right to Instagram their nipples, they were doing a great service for the feminist movement? Because I couldn't imagine that the girls forced to become sex workers to provide for their families would appreciate this. I didn't see how this would provide opportunities for women seeking to gain independence.

The feminist movement, as I saw it, was the Olympic flame of hope for millions of women. I viewed young men and women (the kind who get their own TED Talks and book deals) as being the torchbearers of equality. The success of actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson had given me hope that more celebrities would take on the movement. I had not expected feminism to be exploited in this way.

Seeing the "Free the Nipple" campaign call itself feminist to further its cause was like watching someone light a cigarette for the Olympic flame. It was upsetting, to say the least. I began to fear that people would think that being a feminist meant that all I cared about was being able to show off my genitalia and not shaving my armpits. I didn't want people to forget about the women that we were really trying to help in all of this.

My noble little box of feminism was being shaken, and I didn't like it one bit.

Fast-forward to one year later.

Now, I didn't really have a grand epiphany that resulted in me changing my views. I just kind of forgot about the whole situation, to be honest. It drifted into a desolate corner of my mind and sat there as time went on. I'm quite positive I didn't think about it once.

So one day, out of the blue, "Free the Nipple" pops up on my radar again. I remembered my anger at once, and how deeply offended I convinced myself I was. I traced the roots of my anger and examined the basis of my argument with more mature eyes.

I realized, quickly, that I had been an inhibitor to my own movement.

My first error was in tearing down a woman and telling her she was wrong. Because, you know, that's kind of what I was trying to fight in the first place. Go me. But really, if we're searching for equality, the first step is not pitting ourselves against others because we believe that we're morally superior. It doesn't work that way.

I also had this nasty habit of always addressing feminism as "my" feminism. It's not. Feminism exists because of the idea that there is an "us" that includes me and every nipple-baring chick out there. Us is bigger, and stronger. No movement exists without an us, and keeping it small was just, well, counterproductive.

Feminism isn't a decorative torch. It's fire, spreading from one person to another. It's meant to provide light and warmth in the lives of others.

And the best part of fire?

So long as there's fuel, it grows. And the larger you let it get, the harder it gets to put out.

That's how feminism should be. Where someone sees's an issue, it should be able to answer the call.

Will I jump on the "Free the Nipple" bandwagon and protest censorship laws? Probably not, though I see it's validity (which is an entirely different article in and of itself). But that doesn't mean I should fault someone else for doing so.

Because, if things work out and we do bring these oppressed women in developing countries to the "21st century," we should probably examine the era we're bringing them into. This country hasn't yet reached complete gender equality, and though we may not be affected by it at the moment, it's the principal of the matter. Someone once told these women that they had enough equality at some point in their lives when they clearly didn't. Who are we to determine what's enough?

There are millions who call themselves feminists. Feminism should look different from person to person, and thus should receive a different approach from every individual.

So to the nipple activists that once infuriated me, I would like to thank you for inadvertently teaching me a life lesson that I don't think I'll forget.

We're comrades, not enemies.