There is that one “F” word that gets people in trouble. The one word that causes many to ostracize others and place judgment. The word is “feminism.”

Down to its exact definition, feminism is the pursuit for equality. According to Webster, feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.

But when society does not understand a movement, or what the activists are fighting for, the cause and its followers are simply ostracized.

According to a 2013 Huffington Post poll, just 20 percent of Americans — 23 percent of women and 16 percent of men — consider themselves feminists. With this information the question must be asked; why such a low number?

Feminism is wrong in the eyes of society, and people cannot define themselves as such without being considered extreme. Feminists are slapped with the label of liberal, man-hating hippies, but that isn’t the case.

From the same Huffington Post poll, 58 percent of Republican respondents said the term “feminist” is mostly negative, while 40 percent of independents and 20 percent of Democrats agreed.

Those who are running away from the burning building of discrimination are to blame for feminism’s negative connotation. If people believe women shouldn’t have equal rights, then that is their belief; but if people believe women should be treated equally, then why are they afraid to act?

Feminists can come off as overbearing and passionate. But without that attitude, who would fight for women? Certainly not those who disagree with equal pay regardless of gender and certainly not those who forbid women across the world to drive, receive an education and travel.

My family did not try to marry me off and did not try to abort me because I was a girl, yet it’s happening in developing countries. That is why I wear the label of a feminist proudly, because my female counterparts across the world simply cannot.

People should remember who they are turning their backs on before rolling their eyes at the thought of the “F” word.

Jamilyn Hall is the opinions editor of the Kentucky Kernel.