“Oh, so you’re a feminist.” This is  one of the many phrases I hear whenever I find myself aimlessly stumbling across the topic of gender equity with my friends, family members, or everyday people that I meet. Yes, I consider myself a believer of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. 

However, while this seems a simple belief, some people respond to me as if I am a bad person when I support the idea that men and women should be equal. 

 When the topic comes up, I’m referred to as either too “uptight” or by  another not so nice word, all just because of my opinion on equity. I consider myself a simple feminist; one who simply wants equity for all. However, I know that  some feminists go a little overboard by belittling men. While the idea of espousing a belief in equal social, political and economic rights sounds amazing, there are some that like to trash those who argue for this . Thus brings us the oh “so” hated “feminazi.” 

On one hand we have the protesters fighting to bring education to girls in developing countries and  on the other side of the spectrum we have people fighting to change deodorant labels from “lovely pink for girls” to “DEODORANT FOR ALL.” This polarity is at the heart of the feminism debate. One side is trying to bring significant change to women in challenging parts of the world and one is fighting for proper labeling. If you asked me, use the deodorant and call it a day. 

A feminazi is someone who berates men and lives on the idea of misandry, a belief  that women are better than men. Any ideology that puts one gender over the other is bad for  society. In doing this, we ruin standards of what a good person ought to be, and we become at war with ourselves. 

Some people like to disagree with equity and say that women can never be the equals of men, because physically we will never be the same. Kathy Caprino a writer and speaker dedicated to the advancement of women states “It’s critical to understand that ‘same’ does not mean ‘equal.’ The issue here is about equal rights and equal access to opportunities.  Men and women don’t have to be the “same” in physicality to have the same rights, the same equality.  Of course the sexes are different but feminism isn’t about whether you were born male or female, it’s about being equal in the eyes of society, whether that means being paid the same as your male counterparts or being respected in any work force. 

There’s something about gender equality that hits people differently. Where we find that middle ground of respecting one another’s ideas and growing up from the patriarchal society we live in is still in question, but, ultimately, it will only come if we  learn to accept and allow all people to prosper. When it comes to feminism, we should accept the fact that women deserve a seat at the table. And for all the ladies out there reading this, if they don’t give you a seat, then bring your own chair.