There's been a lot of conversation about feminism this past year, and for that I am very grateful. Finally people understand that the word means equality between the sexes, not putting down men or raising women to a higher standard. People know now that men can be feminists too and that men also suffer from unfair societal expectations. 

However, this year of enlightenment was also accompanied with contradictory cries against women and their rights, and possibly the worst part about it is that these cries against women are coming from women themselves.

Take Beyonce for instance. Although now almost all of us hail "Queen Bey" for every song on her newest album, there was a time when people slammed her sexualized music videos. "She's a mother now," voices objected. "She shouldn't be doing that!" The issue came up once again with Kim K's #BreakTheInternet pictures. There are a slew of negative comments, mainly from women, calling her a jezebel and a terrible mother. 

Oh, and let us not forget about the hacking fiasco when nude pictures of very famous celebrities went viral. Instead of condemning the hackers who stole the photos, a large majority of the responses about the incident were "Well, why did she take the pictures in the first place?" 

I could go on and on about my personal views on each event, but I mainly want to highlight the point that if you've said any of the above, or if you've put down a girl for wearing a short dress, or if you've spitefully gossiped about a girl friends' sexual activity -- you're not a feminist.

You can share all the "feminist" videos you want, but unless you've wanted to throw clothes at David Beckham while yelling, "Cover up, you're a father!" or protested the choice of Jamie Dornan playing Christian Grey because he's a dad, you're being a hypocrite.

Society barely bats an eye when a male celebrity's junk goes online or when they're caught being sexually promiscuous -- Remember how quickly the internet glossed over James Franco and the 17 year-old-girl incident? -- but having a female do the same thing causes immediate backlash.

Now I'm not saying that pitchforks and torches are the appropriate response to any sexual activity made by both men and women, but I'm saying that if you're going to take a stance against something, you have to eliminate gender bias in order to be a feminist. 

Realize that women have the right to do what they please with their bodies just as much as men do. Realize that you can make a difference by refusing to participate in shaming a girl's sexuality. Realize what someone does or does not wear has no effect on you and your fashion choices, and that limiting the freedoms of one group is limiting the freedoms of us all.