Time to man up and support feminism

With Hillary Clinton becoming the first female nominee of a major party, and on the brink of being elected president, one would think that this is a time for men and women alike to rejoice in the progress that our country has made in the area of gender equality. Yet, Clinton's run has sparked many males across the country to bash the feminist movement, whether it's a political pundit on TV or a teenage boy on twitter.

I wish that all of my female ancestors could have lived in an America that accepted them, that believed in them, and that treated them as individuals.

My grandmother was part of an economy where managers and business owners wouldn't warrant women one half the wages of the men who worked with them. There's no denying the hurdles that women have hopped, despite often being barred from the track by men who want to occupy every lane.

Now, rather than having to compete with half the population, guys are up against both sexes of every generation. The wage gap is smaller than it's ever been and women have surpassed men in college enrollment. However, there are still men refusing to relinquish the centuries-old wrangling against women's rights.

But I'm not afraid. Feminism is why my mom had three kids, not thirty. Feminism is why my grandmother, after being abandoned by her husband, was able to raise my father on her own. Feminism is why my little sister may be part of the first generation to experience wage equality.

Rather than brashly bashing feminism because we men are fearful that it's forcing us into inferiority, our priority needs to be to secure a bright, glistening future for our sisters, cousins, wives, daughters and granddaughters.

It's time to man up and support the feminists.

Anton Groark

Arlington Heights