What is feminism, and why should you care?

"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." -Cheris Kramarae

When people think about feminism, they think about hairy, scorned women who want men to die a painful death.
Hate to burst your bubble, and you might want to sit down for this one: We don't want men to die. We want to be equal to men.

When it comes to feminism, we don't believe in being BETTER than you. Feminism is social justice movement that believes in equality between men and women. We believe that we should be able to live in a society where we shouldn't be forced to conform to "social norms (housewives, barefoot, pregnant, uneducated, etc)." We want to aid in changing society. We feel that men shouldn't be afraid to express their vulnerability, and women shouldn't be afraid to be independent. Feminists want everyone to be their authentic selves.

Right now, we live in a purely patriarchal society. What is patriarchy, you ask?
"Patriarchy is a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it."

The world is a patriarchal society in general, with the United States being the largest and most racist country. If you look at who we have in office in our country, all we see is conservative white men. There are a few women here and there, and most of those women are white. Maybe 1% of those in office are men and women of color. I am being generous on the 1% because if you line everyone in government up, it looks like a scene from Frozen.
For generations, a group of "radical" feminists (men and women of various ethnic and religious backgrounds) have tried to equalize this country. They have gone on hunger strikes, been beaten, killed, and they have shouted from rooftops for equality.

Surely, we have made some strides in equality, but we are still far from the finish line. At this time, all the work that our feminist mothers and fathers have done is about to be ruined. Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed away Friday, and now Trump is desperate to fill her seat before the election. RBG was one of the women who was working on equality. If we have a conservative white woman/man take her place, we can say goodbye to racial justice, women's rights, healthcare, marriage equality, abortion rights, and more. Decades of hard work will be washed away, and it will be like the 40s and 50s.

We need to fight for our rights. We need to get to the polls and vote Trump out. We need feminism now more than ever. We have too much at stake.

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