Alright ladies, throw away those razors, but don’t forget you’ve paid the pink tax! I am here to tell you that Trump is still your president, you have to wear a shirt in public, and everyone is oppressed. The problems of today aren’t exclusive to females. Don’t feel special. Right now, feminism is the most vehement social movement and sadly enough, all current feminism seems to be radical feminism. We aren’t looking at the 1960’s wave of feminism either, we’re talking about our brothers and sisters flooding the streets of Washington and various other locations in the world defacing others, criticizing those with different beliefs, and overall, making a complete mockery of what we’re really up against. We must stand together for what we believe in, not make a fool of other people in the process. If we do, we’re being counterproductive and that is what we fail to understand.

So what exactly is feminism? This question is hard to answer because the original intent of feminism consisted of one central theme, world peace and equality for all. This has completely belly flopped over the decades. Feminists nowadays are those who are representing misandry and above all acts, being complete hypocrites. Most recently, we have witnessed the Women’s March that stretched anywhere from Washington, D.C. to our own Indianapolis, Indiana. My biggest problem with the march is that if you have an issue with the president, speak to him like he has opinions and be respectful about it. Just because someone else is being ridiculous doesn’t mean you have to. We’re all guilty of it; if we disagree with someone, we can easily get defensive and ugly, but that isn’t always productive. I feel that sometimes, the best way to handle conflicts is to agree to disagree.

When you believe in something, you should allow others to express their beliefs as well without completely shutting them down. I completely understand the spectrum for why someone would be for or against abortion, for example. When it comes to something as vital to us as our rights, we can’t just call someone with such privileges orange. We have the right to protest the government and to express our grievances and I encourage that, but we can’t make fun of someone in the process. I don’t agree with all of Donald Trump’s policies, but he isn’t just affecting women. Ultimately, he is affecting all of us. If too many of those on the far-left side won’t even have an intellectual conversation with those on the far-right side, or vice versa, we’ll forget we’re all being oppressed by the government and our own society.

Many people have trouble with the feminist movement because of the supporters who then become “anti-men” and that more and more feminists call all men misogynists. Many radical feminists are now doing the exact opposite of the original intent. Equal rights? Equal rights doesn’t and can’t include women discriminating against men in any aspect. Some go to the measure to say things as “death to all men,” and that is disgusting. Those feminists who complain about the misogynists and say things like the aforementioned are no better, period. Meninism and misandry are equally awful. Again, if you are pleading equal rights, you can’t degrade someone else who you think has more rights than you do. At that point, you aren’t with them, you’re against them.

On a different note, many feminists use the argument that they are looked at as sex objects, but women are not the only ones sexualized. Everyone is sexualized. Whether a woman is walking around with a low-cut shirt or a man is strutting around without a shirt, we will look at their chest. This means our eyes are in the same direction and if we think he is attractive, that is the equivalent of sexualizing him. With that, many radical feminists are frazzled when a man opens a door for them or when a man offers to pay for dinner. Many times, I pay for a dinner and that isn’t a feminist statement. There is nothing wrong with chivalry. That’s me being polite.

Women have been respected for birthing and have been seen as goddesses for many generations in many cultures. There are numerous female superheroes in television, like Wonder Woman, Invisible Woman, Ms. Marvel, Jet, and the superhero to be, America Chavez, a queer Latina woman. It also upsets me that it is now a “feminist statement” when a woman cuts her hair, chooses to or not to shave, or have tattoos. Women have been wearing those for decades now; it isn’t always a statement.

As a woman, I realize that the idea of the pink tax seems unfair, but let’s dissect it a little bit. Women’s shirts are cut differently to fit breasts and curves into the measurements. It is harder to make the shirt, therefore raising the cost. I know it’s a hassle, it is annoying, but it’s understandable in the long run. Most “men’s” products are truly unisex. Most people who go to Hot Topic, for example, use the men’s section of clothing because the body type is straighter than that of a woman’s.

The wage gap is exaggerated as well. As much as we want to avoid stereotypes, men and women statistically apply for different jobs. Admittedly, more men are involved in construction and jobs that involve physical labor while women apply for jobs that involve paperwork, for instance. Moreover, there are men in higher paying fields. For instance, more men are doctors, electricians, and surgeons than women are. When we look at the General Motor’s controversy, we see that Mary T. Barra received a beginning salary that was less than her predecessor Dan Akerson. Her womanhood is not necessarily what directly affects her pay. Barra’s pay, according to a report by USA Today, is calculated by the company’s performance and is variable for her being a new, “at-risk” worker. Say there are two equally available and capable employees at the same age, but one is a women and one is a man. Honestly, the woman is automatically less likely if she is at an age where women commonly become pregnant. Many women join the workforce, birth children, and go back in their thirties after their children are able to take care of themselves. Also, 60% of college attendees are women. Many jobs automatically pay more if you have special training or a college degree. This means that the woman with a college degree has a much higher chance to receive the job that the man without a college degree was applying for.

We don’t need feminism, we need something better, something for everybody. At the end of the day, feminism is just too secluded and counterproductive. We have come very far since the 1900’s alone with the introduction of women’s’ suffrage, women working with different career initiatives, and more women involved in leadership, etc. I’ll admit, other countries need help where their rights truly are being violated under religious persecution. If this is the case, this is also more than a feminist movement, but an everyone movement where we all have to come together, without argument, to protect one another from such injustice. Feminism hasn’t presented itself with the same intentions as it once did and it’s moving people apart instead of bringing people together like feminists say they want it to.