Feminist

I am a feminist.

How does that statement make you feel? Did you cringe a little bit or get so excited you wanted to go out and burn your bra?

I know over the years this term has gotten a bad reputation. People often associate the term with man-haters and victims. 

Definition of a feminist: advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.

I have always been a closeted feminist, scared to say it out loud precisely for the negative connotation it can represent to some people. But, as I have gotten older and especially when I became a mother to a girl, my walls have come down and I am proud to say that I am a feminist. 

I believe that I should be treated the same as my husband is treated.

I believe that I should be paid the same as a man who performs the same work that I do.

I believe that I am a person and not an object.

I believe that my body is none of your business.

I believe in a future where my daughter doesn’t have to worry about her place in this world.

My wish for the future is that there won’t be a need for “feminists” but that it would be second nature for all of humankind to be treated exactly what they are – equals.