My mom told me that even when I was young, I always picked being employed in a stable career on my own over to living any Cinderella lifestyle with a handsome prince.

I am by no means a feminist. I think of myself more as an equalist and just as I feel strongly about racial equality, I am passionate about gender equality.

Though I consider myself the epitome of a hopeless romantic, I still find the traditional marriage lifestyle of secondary importance. Being able to follow my dreams and achieve them without worrying about having to prove myself over an equally or less qualified male applicant and knowing I can make it on my own are incredibly important to me.

I saw the movie “Mona Lisa Smile” Saturday night and gained some perspective on my viewpoints.

Set in the early 1950s, the movie focused on a professor’s attempts to make students of an all-female university look for more from their education than becoming “the perfect housewife.”

Times have changed. It is now not only acceptable but encouraged for a woman to pursue a college education and compete in the career field, making attaining my goals seemingly simple.

However, times haven’t changed enough.

Women outnumber men, yet men have a higher employment rate. Women are still treated as objects rather than equals.

According to the Women’s Resource Center Web site, a study conducted by the National Victim Center revealed nearly 4 women 18 years of age or older in the United States are forcibly raped every three minutes. That translates to 78 per hour, 1,871 per day, or 683,000 per year.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, an estimated 91 percent of the victims of rape and sexual assault are female and 9 percent are male.

How can a woman feel equal or powerful if she can’t feel safe?

Socially, female celebrities are trying to fight inequality by conveying control over sexuality.

Music artist Kelis’ latest hit says her “milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,” but I don’t think using a sex act cleverly disguised as the ability to make a frosty beverage to attract “boys” is something to take any sort of pride in.

I would like to see an artist who can find a witty, catchy presentation of how she gained status without using her body as the hook.

I do think women should be able to behave as they wish (as openly sexual or conservative as they desire) without the worry of developing a stigma, but I don’t think our ability to do that should have priority over our abilities to perform as the chief executive officer of a corporation or the editor of a newspaper.

I don’t think that women should be displaying their liberation by proclaiming control over sexuality alone; I think we should find liberation and equality through working to hold the same positions as men in the career world, earning equal pay and receiving mutual respect.

When I go out, I should be treated the same way whether I am wearing jeans and a sweater set or a short, strapless, lace-up dress. A short skirt is not an invitation.

I was going out with my friend Emily over break and we planned what we were wearing out around avoiding being groped, and the worst part was not that we were so offended by it, but that it’s become so common we’re just annoyed.

Women have the same right to go out and enjoy themselves however they want without being labeled promiscuous or prudish. We should be approached as more than an opportunity for sex and our capacity as more should be more prevalent.

Emily and I talked about how exciting it would be if we could be talked to instead of touched and if those words involved getting to know us instead of trying to persuade us.

Presenting our gender as equal, powerful and strong should come through poise and class rather than sex appeal.

I respect tradition – I appreciate a man holding a door for me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t open it myself or even hold one for him someday on our way into work.