After reading the headline of this opinion, your automatic reaction to the man-repelling movement might be similar to the ones I’ve received from my friends and peers when they first heard of it. Here are a few of the more riveting and, dare I say, inaccurate responses:

“Being unattractive and trying to avoid men?”

“I want to say feminism, but I don’t want to sound ignorant.”

“Radical feminism, I’d say.”

“Like Raid for men, except it doesn’t kill you.”

Indeed, it might be easy to conjure up the image of a shimmery pink canister with the words “Man Be Gone!” printed on it at first, but man-repelling is not even close to the physical act of spraying away the male gender as you would mosquitos.

Man-repelling is the act of expressing oneself through style choices; it’s a means of wearing your inner perspective through your outer appearance.

As a seasoned man repeller, I’d say that it’s uncommon, but not unlikely, to find a group of us in your high school. Right now, the movement is finally starting to gain more attention.

The whole thing began when Leandra Medine coined the term for her Man Repeller fashion blog, an acclaimed multi-media business and international lifestyle group. According to her blog, Medine prides herself on the clothes that distinguish her blog; these include “boyfriend jeans, overalls, shoulder pads, full length jumpsuits, and jewelry that resembles violent weaponry and clogs.”

One fashion journalist accurately wrote, “Your first impression of Man Repeller is most probably wrong.” It certainly was for me, at the very least, until I dug a little deeper and did my research.

What I’ve discovered is that man-repelling means having a sense of self-expression completely disaffected by the opinions of others, men and women alike. Man-repelling generally attracts support from women, but also men who are fashion-conscious and diligent about what they wear. This movement throws away the idea that we must compromise our inner values and quirks out of fear of male rejection.

In an interview with Business Insider, Medine emphasizes the same point: “Being a man repeller becomes a process of elimination. If a guy is only really into your outfit or won’t date you because of what you’re wearing, they are too driven by the female exterior and don’t care about your intellect.”

Simply put, if a woman is a man repeller, she uses her clothing to root out unworthy bachelors. Man repellers advocate for individualism, while simultaneously underlining their own individuality through the practice of self-empowerment.

The idea that a man repeller is a man hater is a complete misinterpretation. As man repellers, we instill confidence in each other. We find stability between life’s opposing forces such as silliness and intellect, weakness and strength, acclimatization and fun, spots and stripes. In doing so, we bring out each other’s unique strengths.

If you’re still skeptical of the movement, perhaps this weird analogy will help you understand: Living among a sea of chameleons like a giant rainbow turtleneck (which happens to be one of my favorite clothing items), in all honesty, is what it feels like to be a man repeller.

Sounds weird at first, but all I’m saying is that I feel as if everybody around me is struggling to readjust their lives to each new situation by adapting to fit their surroundings. Instead, I’ve chosen not to fit in for the sake of my sanity. It’s boring and awfully tiring to fit in when I can be so much more — so I’ve chosen to take each day as it comes, with whatever outfit fits my particular mood. A closet full of possibilities and a clean slate is all it takes to hone in on one’s inner man-repelling warrior. That, and a whole lot of Virginia Woolf.

Let’s knock down another potential misconception: that man repellers are heartless and completely uninterested in relationships. And, disregarding popular rumination, man repellers also have to deal with being single; we too bawl our eyes out to chick flicks while eating our weight in ice cream. I mean, my daily oxygen supply is practically reliant on the gushy woebegones of Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes in “Shakespeare in Love.”

Man repellers are forming a new normal. The ideal situation in a man-repellant world would be a safe environment for self-expression, and the equal prosperity of both men and women. It’s not like Medine has discovered anything new or innovative; rather, she’s only encouraging the ancient concept that life is what you make of it. Simple as that. These ideas are universal and aren’t meant to exclude anybody, even conformists, male or female. So if you want to create a life for yourself in a killer jean jacket and your favorite torn up sneakers, “ç’est ta vie” — it’s your life.