Feminism Is Not Just About One Thing -Because I got called a "sex-pot" by my grandfather for wearing a white swimming suit when I was 6 years old. And I was called a whore for wearing a short plaid skirt when I was 10 years old. -and because when Nujood Ali from Yemen was 10 she got divorced. -Because black girls’ names became my classmates’ favorite “joke” when I was 11 years old. -and because when an 11-year-old girl in Texas was raped by 18 men the New York Times wrote of how the girl “dressed older than her age”. -Because I started counting calories when I was 14 years old. -and because when Malala Yousafzai was 14 she was shot in the head for trying to go to school. -Because I heard a boy greet a girl with “hey slut” today at age 17. -and because when a 16-year-old girl in Steubenville, Ohio was filmed being raped by two boys at a party while unconscious, the CNN reporters talked about how tragic it was because the rapists had such bright futures as athletes. -Because I will have to watch my drink at all bars and parties when I am 22. -and because when CeCe McDonald was 22, she was sentenced to 41 months in prison for defending herself against a man who screamed transphobic and racist insults at her and then slashed her face with a bottle. -Because no matter what age I am, the biggest threat to men will still be heart disease, and the biggest threat to women will still be men. -Because it is not just about me, because it is not just about anger, because it is not just a JOKE, because it is not just about “hating men,” because it is not just about girls with vaginas and girls with penises, because it is not just about ending the word “slut”. It is not just about white straight girls in Rookie magazine, because it is not just about writing on backs, because it is not just about the fact that gay men are “fags” but lesbians are “hot.” It is not just about pictures of thin white girls being the only google image results for the search phrase “beautiful women”, because it is not just about writing signs. Because it is not just about what she was wearing or how many times she said yes before she changed her answer to no, because misogyny is not just about one thing and feminism is not just about one thing. It is not just “a trend” and it will not “happen” in just one way or to just certain groups of people. -And because, yes. It is about equality for EVERYONE, but first and foremost it needs to be about equality for Women, not womyn or girls. Because they are NOT treated equally to men, in every single sense. You are not going to take feminism away from me and call me bossy or hostile or aggressive and make this about yourself or make it into a joke, because truth be told, I’m not joking. It has never been a joke. If you want to call yourself a feminist, you have to give me a reason to call you a feminist. Spread feminism, do not turn this into a contest of whose struggle is greater and constantly demand to know what you can get out of feminism personally. Feminism is not just about you, or me, it is about everyone. If you’re male and you’re tired of men being stereotyped as hyper-masculine, soulless, sexist, inherent leader-tyrant creatures, then go out and prove the patriarchy wrong and fight for women the way someone with a soul and the way someone who believes in equality would. Then, yes, feminism will be about everyone. -And because feminism is not a radical notion. It's a notion, alright, a notion of the freedom we promised everyone but made an exception to women when their strength posed as a threat to the men who were always in control. -And because men have ALWAYS defined what is "feminine" and what is acceptable. And women held their tongues. And women still think they have to pack a sleeve and be macho to represent feministic ideals. But all women need to show for what we've been trying to say all along, is that they have a voice to hold their ground and the mind to prove to the bigoted jack off that you make a fire much larger than their flames. -And because women try to be perfect and that is wrong. Because there is such a thing as perfection, and perfection is the disease of a nation. And even though women are classified as certain types of women, there is no type of woman because every woman is a Woman. A woman is not just about being one woman. Feminism is not just about one thing. It's one thing for everything.