Feminism used to entail women searching for equal rights. Now the word has been mutilated, mangled and maimed to be a woman who hates men.

So, why the shift in attitude? It’s not only men who believe this distorted view of feminism, but also women who perpetuate their disdain for so-called feminists. Perhaps people feel there is finally equality, and the need for feminism is outdated and old-school. The media may have helped promote this false view of feminists with the use of “man-hating” and “bra-burning” in their coverage of the movement. In any case, there is still a clear war on women, and feminists are needed more than ever.

Women are underrepresented. Women hold only 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions. When expanded to include all executive officers in the finance and insurance industry, women still account for only 17.6 of the demographic. Out of 100 senators, 20 are women. In the House of Representatives the situation is just as dire: 82 percent of representatives are men.

According to the American Bar Association, women represented only one-third of lawyers, and only 20 percent of partners are women. Women also hold less judicial positions, even though they attend and graduate from law school at nearly the same rate as men.

These numbers are staggering, nearly incomprehensible. This lack of representation in high-powered professions and positions echoes the lack of power women have in their government, their home and their workplace. Women are oppressed by this power system.

Women are underpaid. Women are paid much less than their counterparts, earning only 77 cents to every dollar a man earned in 2012. While some people criticize this number, as women are more likely to be in lower-paid service jobs, the disparity holds true when it is divided by degree and profession. The higher degree a woman receives, the less she will be paid relative to men.

What is the incentive for women to attend a higher education institution, then? Women are, however, and they are graduating at much higher rates than men. This is indicative of their success in the professional fields, yet they are overlooked and under-appreciated.

Women are objectified and sexualized, told from a very early age that to get ahead you must be pretty, attractive, feminine and docile. Speaking out is against the very nature of being a woman. It does not help that those who speak out for women about their sexuality can be completely wrong. Senator Saxby Chambliss said, “Gee-whiz, the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things (rape in the military) to occur.” Other politicians have commented that women are “asking” for rape and they can stop pregnancy from occurring.

Feminism does not need to be old-school; it needs to be a new force that battles the old-school, takes on the conservative, defies the habitually accepted. Feminism needs to be cool again.