Marc-Andre Bizier, 58 y/o, telecommunication towers building supervisor: F – female / E – elaborate / M – mind / I – intelligence / N – needs / I – investigation / S – social / M – mastery.

Karim Bellal, 28 y/o, assistant manager at Mochico: I think feminists want to be treated equally to men, so maybe they strive to assume a manlier identity, because they think if their attitude is the same, they will be treated as men.

Veronique Renaud, 42 y/o, web strategist: Feminists want to assume their female qualities and be free to be themselves. They have a responsibility to denounce gender inequality whenever they meet it. I don’t think a feminist would ever look the other way if they witnessed injustice; the only way for them to trigger change is to take a stand and protest.

Beatriz Elena Jimenez Garcia, 27 y/o, linguistics & education student: In our society, I don’t think anybody is born a woman, they become one. The female identity has been somehow turned into what you could call a “behavioral ornament”. Society has defined very specific gender roles, which create rigid expectations for individuals to fulfill those responsibilities. This starts at a very young age. The games we played as kids teach us that boys like cars and weapons and rough things, whereas girls like to play mommy with their dolls and their mini kitchen; they learn to be sensible nurturers. We also humiliate our boys for being sensitive and tell our girls they’re being “bossy” or a “nag” when they assert their convictions. We can’t be complete people if we deny ourselves parts of who we are.

Kristine Iles, 25 y/o, Barmaid: Feminism is usually defined as the idea that women should have the same equality as men in social spheres – jobs, salaries, home and personal lives for example. I think this definition is a symptom of patriarchy. It is saying that women need help to be like men; the point is for women to achieve in the way men do, not to create a quota of how many get hired instead of allowing all applicants to be chosen based on their qualifications. Every individual is born different. Feminism is about equal and fair opportunities for everyone, celebrating people’s differences and not making anyone fit into a mold.

Mylene Haurie, 23 y/o, student/dog walker: Feminism is not about female superiority, like a lot of people seem to wrongly assume these days. The whole feminism = feminazi thing is the one thing that really irks me. I hate it when it’s assumed I hate men for declaring myself a feminist.

Michael Turcotte-Talbot, 23 y/o, Virgin sales representative: Feminism is about the political, economical & sociological equality of the sexes, no matter what race or ethnicity.