As Cheris Kramarae once said, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”

Through the tasteful placement of these nine words, Kramarae said to the world what women as far back as Mary Wollstonecraft tried to communicate. But nowadays, incorporating feminism into casual conversation has resulted in something that feels a little backward: It’s turned into a newly established F-bomb, becoming a perpetrator of quick gasps and whiny groans by men and women alike. If you aren’t shushed, you’re instead given a dirty look. And holding copies of books like “Men Explain Things to Me” makes the reader a victim of interrogations, harsh comments, unapologetic misogyny and the occasional assault on that precious paperback copy. Why is the concept of gender equality as intimidating to some as a room full of angry professional wrestlers?

Allow me to continue with that analogy. Aside from their stench and sculpted muscles, professional wrestlers are probably productive members of society who do their fair share of knitting and amateur chess playing when they aren’t preparing to strangle their opponents in the ring.

Now compare that to feminists, the regular men and women who acknowledge the systematic oppression of the female gender. We’re mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, doctors, bakers, writers, teachers, the 44th President of the United States and more. We enjoy the same air and cry the same tears, contrary to the popular belief that feminists are the antichrist and don’t need air.

But for some reason, feminists are all too often seen as angry velociraptor women who eat men for lunch and reject femininity in all forms. This generalization, frankly put, is unfair and bizarre: It’s been adopted as a defense mechanism to immediately ward off all hopes of societal progression.

First, a plethora of people define themselves as feminists, not just women. To discount a man’s feminism is not only to assume that people act in self-interest and self-interest only, but also to disrespect the welcoming nature of the feminist movement.

Second, this stereotype is just as inequitable as classifying all football players as meatheads and all cheerleaders as dumb. It overgeneralizes otherwise multi-layered human beings. When someone tosses aside their preconceived notions of feminists and walks into the movement with an open mind, he or she may be surprised at the love that greets him — a love that celebrates the diversity of the individual, and the equality among all.

And last but not least, the stigma placed upon feminism as a code-red conversation crusher may be due to the fact that we shy away from it in the classroom. Even when mentioning the women’s rights movements in history class, for example, we only manage to scrape the surface: X person did Y thing, but under what beliefs, and for what change? “Too much is distasteful, so let’s settle for so little that no critical thinking permeates the discussion,” thought the publishers of “The American Pageant.”

After all, the mention of the F-word can provoke immediate rejection. But that’s no excuse for the valuable education we’re missing out on. Shying away from classroom discussions on the women who’ve shaped history hinders young girls, perpetuating a culture in which they remain ignorant to their abilities.

The underlying notion of feminism has always been and will always be gender equality — not the misconstrued idea that women are in any way superior to men. It’s simpler than that, because it’s all in the name: It is only the belief that women deserve the same as their male counterparts. Nothing more, nothing less.

As blunt as it sounds, men who shun feminism and use it as a hotspot for humor and ridicule are not sound enough in their masculinity to accept their privilege and use it to help the oppressed. And now that we’ve touched bases there, let’s talk about the other end of the spectrum. Women who are anti-feminists are victims of internalized oppression; they don’t realize that they’re essentially fighting a battle against themselves.

If you believe in gender equality, then I’m very sorry to say that you are technically a feminist — frightening as it may be. Unfortunately, the stigma behind the word has made both men and women tremble in fear at the thought of admitting it. Many already fundamentally believe in the concept of equality. So why not proudly announce it to the world, and take those small but important steps toward progress?

For anyone who’s interested, I’ve dropped 14 F-bombs in just this article.