Do you believe that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover? If so, you'll probably believe that you shouldn't judge an article by its title. Let's face it, this has been done loads of times before: the usual ranting on about how women are better than men and how they deserve more rights.
Whatever else feminists have done, they sure haven't done anything about their image. Or perhaps society hasn't done anything about how they perceive feminists. These stupid images do not help matters. Unfortunately, few people are aware that sexism lives on in modern-day society.
Take religion. Immediately everyone will point to Islam, but Catholicism is extremely sexist, too. Why can't women be priests? Most people would answer this question by saying that women can be nuns and that this is the female equivalent. However, a nun's male equivalent is a monk, just as a sister's male equivalent is a brother. The priest is above them, and so it remains that women can't become priests.
The church has its reasons. In case you think I'm a psycho who is throwing a hissy fit, I have read them. They are a load of nonsense about how women should be nurturers, mothers and observers while men get to do all the good stuff. What if I want to turn wine into blood?
Then there are the witch hunts that were carried out by the Catholic Church. Women who knew herbal remedies for death were burned. Even 'God' is portrayed as male. Sexism is everywhere. How many women do you know who are builders, mechanics, CEOs?
I haven't even begun to speak about Asia and issues such as arranged marriages and dangerous operations. You're probably tempted to turn the page by now or to put this through a shredding machine, but I'll finish off with a story I read in the book The Bookseller of Kabul. This girl entered an arranged marriage with a much older relative. He sent her to live with his family while he sorted out his visa. She began an affair with some guy.
The family found out, and she was sent packing. When she got home she was beaten. After a three-day meeting her mother was ordered to smother her. Do you think that if it had been a boy he would have been killed? Probably not. I know that the image of the feminist is often negative, but if you seriously think about what a feminist stands for, you will see that we're only trying to make the world a better place.
Emily Flaherty
Dynamic, Old Bawn Community School, Tallaght, Dublin 24
What the judges say: 'A strong individual voice, unapologetic and gutsy'