Why do we need feminism today?

If you read the title of this post and thought, "you've already done an post or two on Feminism" (which you can read here and here), you're right, congratulations.

But, you hear so many people clearly stating that they're all for gender equality, but they would never call themselves a feminist???why??? 

bro

This confuses me, so I thought I would go on another feminist rant highlighting it's importance in the 21st century  (you can thank me later).

So, I decided to make a list of why we need feminism today, voilà:

We need feminism because women and men still aren't treated as equals:

• The pay gap
• Lots of women around the world can't access secondary, or even basic education
• Women can't drive in Saudi Arabia
• Women pay more for everyday things (deodorant, razors, and sanitary products)
• We're underrepresented in government 

We need feminism because people say things like this:

• "I wish we lived in the 1970s when girls wouldn't argue back"
• "I don't need to know how to cook because I'm a boy!"
• "In a relationship, the man is the head of his wife"
• "sit like a girl"
• "OMG how gay"

We need feminism because the LGBTQ community needs equal rights as straight people:

• Being able to go to public toilets without any issues
• Being able to get married where they please
• Generally not being made fun of because of their sexuality

We need feminism because it represents men too:

• Male rape victims, who can't speak up for fear of not being "manly" enough 
• Trans men who are transitioning 
• Men scared to express feelings that aren't "manly" (i.e. the idea that they're scared or hurt etc)
• Men who shame their bodies because they don't fit society's rugged stereotype 
• Men who feel they can't be interested in cooking, or cleaning because it's just too "feminine" 

Well, that's it folks, I hope you are now a proud feminist (or at least you learned something there, that's okay too)

You tell em' girl. 

You're such a girl

Many argue that gender inequality is pretty much non- existent in the east, but how is that possible when there are so many phrases in the English language that put women down?

For instance, "You kick like a girl"

Can someone please explain what this sentence is supposed to mean? When put in context, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be an insult- but when did kicking like a woman become such a bad thing? 
Or, what about "Grow some balls"/ "Stop being such a pussy"/ "man up"

You're flat out saying women are the weaker sex and yet the irony of these phrases is overwhelming: if you were to kick a guy's balls, we all know it's meant to hurt like hell. But, the female reproductive system can bleed for seven days straight, without causing any real harm to us. SO HOW DOES GROWING SOME BALLS HELP MAKE SOMEONE STRONGER??????

One that really get's on my nerves is "she was asking for it"

No one asks for rape. 

So, can we please stop victim blaming? Women should be allowed to wear red lipstick, and show some skin without having to deal with the fact that some men are unable to control themselves. 

A classic, is " who wears the pants in the relationship?"

Excuse me a second, while I go hit my head against a brick wall. 

This stems from the fact that in the past, it was strongly emphasised that men were the head of their wives, as well as the whole family. Plus, it used to be only men who wore trousers really. 

However, nowadays it's more widely accepted that both partners are equal in a relationship. So, the two of them should trousers as they wish (did I mention girls also look great in pants too) and both can be equal to each other. 

Then, there's the blood boiling "it's just a cat call"

No, it's outright harassment. If a girl looks good walking down the street, good for her. Why can't we just leave it at that? 

Physically calling out to her, (or going further and touching her) is plain uncomfortable and rather upsetting. So please stop.

The F word

Welcome to 2015, we have cars that can drive themselves and phones that can talk to you! Oh, but equal rights for men and women? oh yeah, well, we're still working on that...
Okay, first things first, I'm a feminist.  
But I don't follow the man-hating, child-slaughtering terror that some have stereotyped feminism to be. Us feminists, are more like people who believe with their whole heart, that men and women deserve equal rights.

This guy gets it. I could not have said it better myself.

However, the bitter, bitter truth is that even in the twenty first century, those equal rights fail to exist. Don't believe me?
Let's focus on the infamous example of how women are unable to drive in Saudi Arabia, by law. Now, the last time I checked, women too have hands to grip the wheel, feet to hit the pedal, and a brain to know when to swerve. So why are we stripped of this right?
Also, besides being unreasonable, it's fairly impractical too: isn't there some sort of a problem when a man is driving a bus full of young school girls?
Or, let's take the problem of gender inequality to the West: the pay gap. Granted, we've come a long way with this problem, but it still stands. Overall, in 2014, the pay gap was 19.1% in Great Britain, 16.4% on average in the EU and 18% in the US (2013).
I know that there's this long running joke that straight,white males have the least prejudice piled up against them- and for the most part, this is probably true- but it's hard to imagine that there goes no injustice against men. 
Did you know, every one in seven men experienced "severe physical violence" in 2012, whilst one in four were raped, stalked or abused by a partner. 
So, although women are more oppressed right now, there are some gender prejudices that men face too. 
Obviously, gender equality doesn't yet exist, and we need to recognise this, if we are to live in a more equal, peaceful, better world.