How I Realized This Unequal World and Determined to Fight against

There were three men who “helped” me to face the reality.

Mr. A: “I don’t want a girlfriend who is as smart as you.”
Mr. B: “If my girlfriend or my wife earned more than me, I would feel bad.”
Mr. C: “I don’t really want to hire women because they will ask for maternity leave and then I have to find someone else to share their responsibilities, and thus the productivity might be lowered.”

A is my brother. B is my best male friend. C is my father’s boss.

They are all great men, and two of them are even my beloved. However, I just suddenly realized from them that this world is still very unequal in terms of gender because even “they” (the men I love and the men who love me) have patriarchal mindset. Because I was born in Taiwan, the nation that is ranked #1 in Asia and #4 in the world in terms of women’s rights, I was too naive and thought that everyone had equality in this civilized world. However, the truth is: if the men in my country are like this, how much suffering do women in other countries experience.

My ideal world, where men and women could equally compete, just collapsed; and this is how I started to be concerned about women’s rights. I didn’t feel angry with them (the men I love and respect). Instead, I felt thankful because they forced me to face the reality and urged me to work hard to prove who I am and what I can do, as a woman.

Yes, I am a feminist. No, I don’t hate men.