Do you hate men? Definitely not. In fact, I could afford to be a little more picky in that department.

Are you a lesbian? Well, no. See above.

Let me be clear — there’s nothing wrong with being a lesbian or electing not to shave, if that’s your choice. The problem, as with any prejudice, lies within assigning stereotypes to a group of unique individuals.

And I believe misunderstandings about my second major stem from negative views on feminism.

One writer I’ve had the pleasure to read in my gender studies courses had a surprising cameo in a recent Beyoncé single. In her song “Flawless,” Beyoncé used a soundbite from a TED talk given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian author who has spoken at length about gender equality.

Adichie discusses how girls are raised as competitors for male attention and are taught to aspire to marriage. The track appeared on Beyoncé’s most recent album, which has sold three million copies as of January 2013.

That means potentially millions of people have heard an important feminist argument in the context of music they enjoy. If even a fraction of them take away something about those gender issues, that’s great.

But the negativity toward feminism persists, and I don’t think the feminist community is completely blameless. Feminists are intense. It’s one common element I see between journalism and gender studies — neither are fields that people simply stumble into, which means those who pursue them are very passionate by nature.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a women’s studies major, there’s something to be said for picking your battles.

For example, in my time at MSU I’ve encountered too many of what I like to call the “just got to college” feminists. These are the girls and occasionally guys who sweep into WS 201 the first day of fall semester with lofty, unrealistic principles and a pre-prepared speech about the misogyny of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”

That’s not to say “Blurred Lines” isn’t misogynistic. But women in this country are still being paid 77 cents to every dollar a man makes. And that’s in the U.S., arguably the most progressive nation in the world.

There are women in Africa coping with female circumcision and girls in some parts of the Middle East who aren’t permitted to receive an education.

We’ve got more important things to worry about. Having a dialogue about smaller issues is great, but focusing on the bigger picture might keep us from ostracizing people from the greater good — political, social and economic equality of the sexes.

Men and feminism has long been a tricky issue, for instance, because there’s a misconception that the two are mutually exclusive.

This isn’t handled well even in a gender studies curriculum. In my experience, there’s almost always at least one boy enrolled in a typical women’s studies course. That boy is usually either hero worshipped for being oh-so-sensitive to the plight of the fairer sex or inadvertently blamed for all of patriarchy.

In order for more men to want to be feminists, we need to stop freaking out about men being feminists. Men are feminism’s greatest untapped resource.

I don’t know a single man who isn’t a feminist, whether he knows it or not. Because nearly every guy out there has a mother, a sister, a girlfriend, a wife or a daughter whom they love deeply.

Why wouldn’t men want the women they love to have the same privileges they enjoy?

Gender studies is something that drew my interest over time. Ultimately I knew at a very young age that I wanted to be a political reporter. I came to MSU planning to graduate with a degree in journalism, and that hasn’t changed.

Journalism and women’s studies. Clearly, I’m not looking for a guaranteed job offer or a hefty paycheck when I get my diploma. I’m in it for something else, which brings me to what exactly gender studies is.

It’s not constant, required reading of Gloria Steinem. It’s not huddles of angry girls talking at length about menstruation.

A better description of gender studies is the study of people: a cultural anthropology.

So far, I’ve studied the different perspectives of men and women as they relate to the health care system, the criminal justice system and the economy. I’ve studied how racial, religious and socioeconomic minorities fit into modern society.

I’ve studied the struggles of the LGBT community and the challenges faced by individuals who don’t identify as heterosexual.

I’ve studied the history of sex and sexuality, encompassing everything from ancient Greek philosophers’ views on the female orgasm to the revolution of birth control in the 1960s.

I’m not trying to be defensive. The truth is, it’s not an area of study for everyone. I personally chose it because I believed that studying everything I’ve just mentioned would make me a more informed reporter. But awareness about these issues could make us all more informed individuals, which is certainly not a bad thing.

Still want to ask me if I burn my bras?

Celeste Bott is the State News digital managing editor. Reach her at cbott@statenews.com.