Feminism is synonymous with gender equality.

Read that. Now read it again. The problem that many feminists face is the stigma attached to the word “feminism”. The difficulty of getting people to join the movement is the fear of being labelled a “feminist”.

Do you believe women deserve a chance at education? Do you believe women deserve equal opportunity and equal wages in the workplace? Do you believe women deserve the same rights as men? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then, congratulations, you are a feminist! If you answered no, then I’m sorry to inform you that you are a misogynistic, sexist person. Really, it’s one or the other.

Yes, feminism is about women empowerment. That is usually mistaken for wanting to be superior to men. It is not about hating men. It’s not about wanting to be better then men. In fact, the world is so sexist that even such a movement is still considered to be about men. But, newsflash! For once, it’s not all about men. It about empowering females so that they can achieve equal status as their male counterparts. Thus the name “feminism”.

Why not call it gender equality? Simple. There needs to be a recognition that the oppressed gender is the female — and only that way can we solve the problem. “Feminism” emphasizes and highlights the gender that is being treated unfairly, it draws attention to the gender that needs help. It is more specific than the term “gender equality”. We are addressing the problem directly. Gender equality is the main goal. Feminism is how we get there.

With words like “MANkind” and “huMAN” and “HIStory”, is it really that scary that we have one movement named after the female gender? The very idea of having a movement names after females incites fear within men that females want to take over the world. It’s now males versus females. The war between the genders but with females playing on the team on the males for fear of never getting a boyfriend or a husband. Never does it occur to people that maybe, just maybe, everyone is on the same side. Really, the fact that such a stigma is attached to being a feminist evidently shows the misogyny of our society! Shaming a woman for wanting equal rights for herself. Is that not the reason why feminism even exists?

A girl in class tells me she agrees that women deserve the same rights and opportunities as men, but god forbid she be labelled a feminist. I hope I’m not the only one who sees the irony of it all. The irony of wanting to be equal with men but at the same time still letting them define the term “feminist”.

Lets kill the stigma. Kill the stigma that feminists are men-hating, bra-burning freaks. Kill the stigma that feminists can’t get a man. Kill this stigma.

Feminism is synonymous with gender equality.