Last semester, in my communication theory class, we were on the subject of feminism when my teacher asked how many students in the class consider themselves feminists.
Of course, I raised my hand without hesitation, but I was shocked when I looked around the room and realized my hand was the only hand in the air (not to mention that over half of the students in the class were female).
To say I was appalled or at a loss for words would have been an understatement. 
I was so disturbed I hardly paid attention to the rest of the lecture and kept wondering why none of the women in the class identified as feminists.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. When I took sociology at a junior college a couple of years ago, the professor had the word feminist in the class lecture notes  on the power point and a student raised his hand and asked what a feminist was and everyone looked as if they had  just swallowed a teaspoon of castor oil (no offense, Grandma).
During the entire class period all I could think about was if it weren’t for feminism neither I nor any of the other women would have even been able to sit in that classroom (yes, there was a time when women were not allowed to get an  education.)
Feminism has contributed so much to today’s society and yet it is frowned upon like a taboo. If not for feminism, women would not be able to do many of the things they do today such as vote, drive cars, have a careers, serve in the military, own property, get a divorce (on their own terms) or even  serve in public office.
If not for feminism, there would be no women’s shelters for domestic violence victims, no crisis centers or support for rape victims, no childcare facilities, no maternity leave or any privileges women  advantage of (and take for granted) today. Society plays a role in this backlash against feminism.
Society portrays feminists as “man-hating female supremacists.”
There may be some women who fit into this category and may have extreme views, but most feminist do not.
Most feminists simply just want to be treated equally and have the same freedom and privileges as men.
They do not think women are the superior sex or should be treated “better” than men.
Society also wants was to believe feminism is outdated and no longer needed because women have already accomplished the goal of equality in society.
I’m afraid I have to (strongly) disagree with that standpoint.
While women have come a long way, there is still a long way to go.
Workplace discrimination and sexual harassment against women are still rampant and go unresolved and often unpunished; hundreds of bills are being passed by the government that restrict women’s reproductive choices and freedom, millions of women are victims of sexual and domestic violence and society even perpetuates this kind of behavior (i.e. rape culture, victim blaming, etc.), many women starve themselves to fit society’s unrealistic idea of beauty and women still earn less than men for the same work (that includes the same amount of education, same number of hours worked, etc.).
Women are constantly bombarded with magazines and advertisements telling them what they should be and look like and our culture still shudders at the thought of having a woman in power (i.e. president, CEO, etc.) 
Looking at these issues (and I was just scratching the surface), it is hardly reasonable to argue we don’t need feminism.