A sense of male dominance has seemingly always haunted our society. Men have ruthlessly demeaned the roles of women, refusing to accept that women are equally deserving of a place in society. Men have insulted the intelligence and capabilities of women simply because of their anatomy. Some men have mordantly abused women, both physically and mentally, through overt discrimination. We’ve been confined to the bottom tier of the gender hierarchy since the inception of humanity, forced to complete menial tasks while men arrogantly puffed out their chests and boasted their dominance.

In kindergarten, my teacher asked the class if anyone was strong enough to move her desk to the other side of the classroom. I raised my hand confidently; my athletic build set me apart from girls my age, and though I couldn’t comprehend simple multiplication, I was mature enough to understand that I was proud of my muscles. My teacher laughed at me when she saw my hand raised. “Leave it to the boys to do the heavy lifting”, she had said, her lips twitching as she attempted to suppress a giggle. My face fell instantly. Why can’t girls do it too?, I thought. Yet I didn’t challenge my teacher; instead, I obediently returned to the classroom dollhouse where I played House alongside my female peers.

Girls are told to keep their mouths shut from a youthful age, allowing men to perpetuate their dominance over women. Perhaps we shy away from using “the F-word” because we are afraid to express that societal norms need changing. Perhaps we misconstrue the meaning of ‘feminism’ to adopt a negative connotation as a defense mechanism.

True feminists are those who disregard the negativity littering the term ‘feminism’ and continue to stride towards gender equality.

True feminists refuse to return to the dollhouse; they do the heavy lifting themselves.