Feminism. Society’s dirtiest f-word.

Whatever you want to call it, the idea that women should be equal to men is one that causes a ridiculous amount of conflict within our society. Not only is there a stigma that the word feminism carries, but the word also comes with many misconceptions.

####All feminists hate men

Not true.

Feminism is about equality. Feminists don’t wish to reach above men; they just want to be equal to them.

Guess what? Feminism isn’t actually all about men. It’s about women’s empowerment and trying to get women what they deserve.

Sadly, the loudest, most radical “feminists” are usually the ones to be heard. “Feminazis” are what threatened people on the internet call radical feminists. While there are feminists who think that all men are pigs, a majority of feminists just want equality.

I know, it’s scary. But this is what feminism is.

Feminism is:
Women = men

Feminism is not:
Women > men

####Feminists are all absolutely crazy, bra-burning women

Wrong, again.

I am a proud feminist but I can say that I have never burned a bra, or anything for that matter, to get my opinions of feminism across. There are many things you can do to take a stand for feminism, and burning a bra is not one of them. The only thing you will get out of burning a bra is a sense of freedom that will last about three seconds and then the instant regret of burning an expensive item of clothing.

Join a feminist club, inform your friends about your views of feminism, have an educated conversation about it, _write a column_. Don’t burn a bra. That won’t get you anywhere and all you will have to do is go and buy more super-expensive bras.

####Women and men are equal, so feminism is no longer an issue

What was that? Oh, sorry I couldn’t hear you through this glass ceiling. If you haven’t guessed yet, this misconception is probably the furthest from the truth.

In 2014, women earned on average $0.79 to every $1 earned by men.

Women will need to work more than 70 additional days each year to catch up to men.

Only 17 percent of the seats in Congress are held by women, even though we make up more than half of the population.

One out of every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.

Even in the top 10 paying jobs for women, women earn less than men. Speech pathology is the only career that pays the same regardless of gender.

These facts explain themselves. Men and women are not equal and something needs to change.

####There is only one definition of a feminist

I’m no Merriam-Webster, but I can guarantee if you picked up the dictionary and looked up the definition of a feminist, it wouldn’t say “people who hate men.” Go ahead, do it. I’ll wait here.

Aside from the definition of a feminist that Queen B gives us, I think there is one that is just, if not, as important as her lyrics in “Flawless.” (She says a feminist is “the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.”)

In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book, _We Should All Be Feminists_, she gives one of the best descriptions of feminism I have come across: “A feminist is a man or woman who says, yes, there’s a problem with gender as it is today, and we must fix it, we must do better. All of us, women and men, must do better.”

####Feminism is terrifying

Feminism is not scary. Feminism is about equality. Simple. Period. End of discussion.