I am a feminist. I have no trouble with the ‘f’ word. I don’t try to dance around it. Or soften it. I own that shit. Being a feminist does not mean I hate men or blame men or think all women crap rainbows. To me, being a feminist means that women should have the same opportunities and choices as men. That’s it, that’s all. Still it’s a huge thing in 2015, especially in parts of the world where women are not valued or in parts where they are only valued for their ability to reproduce or their looks.

Being a feminist doesn’t mean I’m not critical of choices some women make to rely solely on their looks or sex appeal and not their brains or abilities. It doesn’t mean I think women should always make as much money as men. It depends on the job and the individual’s worth to the company. I’m a huge believer in meritocracy but here’s the catch. For that system to work, women should have the opportunity to reach those same stratospheric levels and not penalized for their lack of a penis. Same goes for people of colour and rainbow sexuality.

I have issues with women who are not feminists. Do they think their right to vote, to education,  to birth control, to work outside the home just magically appeared? I also have issues with role models who don’t like the word and couch it in different terms. Meryl Streep prefers the word humanist. Hey, why can’t you be both? And do we insist people who fight racism water down their pitch? Or those who fight for the rights of the transgender community? Is it merely women who worry about adopting the proper tone? Don’t want to give offence. Well, if believing that gender should not matter one whit when it comes to education or employment, then I don’t mind if it ticks people off when I say “I am a f***ing feminist.”

There I used my two favourite ‘f’ words in a single sentence.

By the way, guys can be feminists too just like white people can fight racism.