Is being a feminist ahead of the curve or behind the curve? If you think feminism is too liberal or too angry or too extreme, you are not going to like this post.

Maybe the true wordsmiths can come up with a better word for what I am now because “feminist” is too general. And I hate to do this in my writing because it is the cheapest way to start a discussion and is so trite, but most people still don’t know the definition of feminist.

Feminist: the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

It just doesn’t cover it.

What about girls? What men’s rights cover pregnancy? What men’s rights cover our rights to having extra restroom stalls so that we don’t have to wait in longer lines because our physiology requires us to take longer in the bathroom, let alone our social norms (makeup, hair, looking good in the mirror)?

What men’s rights make up for all the other physical inequities of living life in a female body? Women spend more money on health care than men throughout their lives. Women spend more time in pain than men. Women worry about their looks more than men. Women are better caregivers than men. Women worry about others more than men. What men’s rights value the personal caretaking that women naturally are prone to? A highly valuable social contribution that is not given its due. People think bosses undervalue women’s work in the workplace and pay them less because they can get away with it. Yes, this is partially true, but the other thing that contributes to women’s inequity in pay is that they are usually the ones staying at home or spending more time at home being caregivers to children and the elderly. I know there is so much more that I haven’t touched on.

Even if a woman gets equal pay for equal work at work, how do they get compensated for their work outside of work?

I love language and like to be precise and accurate with it. “Feminist” just doesn’t cover it for me.