First, I'd like to start my article by defining the word feminist. Reason being, you can't argue with a definition.

Feminist: a person who supports feminism

So, what is the definition of feminism you may ask? No reason to fret, I came prepared:

Feminism: the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. You might be saying to yourself right now "Hey, I believe in that, but I'm not a feminist." I hate to break it to you, but you just might be.

You see, feminism has gotten a very negative notion because of some of the extremist out there. When many people hear the word feminist they think "feminist want to repress men" or "all feminists hate men," but that isn't the case at all. I can prove that to you just by the definition alone. Right in the definition from Merriam-Webster Dictionary it says "the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes."

Equality meaning women just want the exact same opportunities and respect as men. Some might say "women already have that", but it's just not true. Yes, I will 100% agree that things have gotten immensely better, but just because something has improved, doesn't mean you stop working. For example, if you're on the track team, do you stop working hard just because your mile time has improved? No, of course not. That's exactly how feminist feel. Just because things have gotten better for women, doesn't mean we stop working to keep making strides.

Another worry I hear about someone calling themselves a feminist is they feel it means we don't fight to keep things equal for men. For example, I hear a lot of times that people don't feel sexual abuse for males is talked about enough. That is a valid statement, but that should be its own statement rather than trying to put one thing down to lift another. You see, although the feminist movement has been primary used to advocate for women's rights, it has done remarkable things for males as well. Before this movement, there wasn't even a discussion about abuse of men. Now we're at least talking about it, bringing exposure to it, and letting men out there know other people are going through this and what you're feeling is valid. It may not be discussed enough, but the people who are making sure it's talked about are the feminist. As the definition states, we truly do want equality between each sex.

Because of this negative notion given to feminists, many people have started calling themselves "activist" or "equalist." I personally find this funny because they are synonyms to the word feminist. Feminist, equalist, and activist are all fighting for the same things. Yes, there are some extremists out there that try to twist what the group is truly fighting and striving for, but you'll find those people in every big group. Please don't let that sway you view though and think all of us are like that. If you keep an open mind and see what feminist are really like, you just might realize you are one too.