I’d like to think most people should be feminists. This is because most people would like to think that we are all actively seeking out to respect women the same as anyone else.

However, unfortunately, if you look carefully enough, you can still see this slip through the cracks and that people pay respect as conditional, as opposed to unconditional every time you go out to the bar or in the workplace or with any other interactions.

The empowerment of women is incredibly important now more than ever and the lack of attention that has been brought to gender equality is rapidly coming to light.

Regardless of how many sexual harassment or sexual abuse allegations you see circulating around with celebrities and whether or not they are true, the overall message is that gender equality and the empowerment of women is still very significant.

Probably the easiest thing for a person to do right now is to think that the conversation on gender equality is old, that it’s ridiculous and that we have already basically sorted this problem out in the 1980s.

So why are we still harping about it? Why is it still on the news today?

So much gender inequality happens behind the scenes where the line thins and the clarity of what is wrong and what is right fades to the naked eye. Sometimes in order to get to better places or be in a better position, at the workplace or even just to remain on good terms with someone, I feel that some women succumb to this kind of inequality.

This is why it is particularly pleasing to see many people rise above that and be that source of influence in society. That could be the little things, such as seeing our new president at Quinnipiac, Dr. Judy Olian, hopefully take the reins and steer this university into a bigger, better and brighter future.

It could be Oprah Winfrey’s mesmerizing speech at the Oscars emphasizing upon female empowerment. The conversation going to continue and when will the conversation stop?

The conversation can’t stop until the day that both genders truly treat others how they’d like to be treated themselves and have true empathy for the each other Another unfortunate, and almost too common stereotype of today’s society, is when a female is in a position of power, it’s too easy to focus on her appearance as opposed to her portfolio or her skills.

In addition, I have come to question, are we trying to restrict people, or should we be trying to respect people and their decisions? I hope the answer comes quickly to you, because in all honesty, it’s quite clear that everyone should be intent on respecting women and for other women to begin to respect each other’s decisions and stick by them.

We should be just as supportive of what women want to do as anyone else. There is no restriction because of one’s gender.

The important point to take away from this, is that I feel women shouldn’t sell themselves short, they should stay strong in who they are and not self-deprecate themselves to being subservient to a male in order to benefit better in society. There are men that need to be less manipulative to women and give them the respect they deserve.

We all should also work to be really unified together, support each other and really punch through the stigma of this alleged alpha male world, because this is 2018 and I fully believe that this is a year where the gender equality will take a stronger grip on the world.

This leads to my point on feminism and how we should all work to be a feminist. Nowadays, there is an obscure view on feminism, especially as you get very radical feminists who you could say are very aggressive in the way they approach their protests. Feminism is a movement in which you support equality and the empowerment of women; as simple as that.

My hope is that one day, this movement will be as powerful and as unified as the civil rights movement is today and that all women will be strongly unified particularly when there is any sign of a person abusing the empowerment of women and the equality of women. We are stronger together, let’s be united with one another and really look out for each other.