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August 13, 2021
Happy Monday, Feministas. Hope you're staying cool out there in this mid-summer heat. This week we're excited to share with you the very best feminist quotes we've stumbled upon in the last year or so of reading and learning about the history of gender equality, women's rights, and the feminist agenda at large.
So whether you're new to calling yourself the F-word (for feminist!) or a long-time ride-or-die for the cause, these words from some of the most inspiring women of all time should put some girl power pep in your step. So start scrolling and get ready to get empowered, ladies, because these feminist words to live by are the kind that inspire advocacy, compel action, and make us feel seen and less alone.
No list of ours would be complete without a quick mention of feminist heroine Audre Lorde, so we're just gonna start with her this time :) You can learn all about her and the famous speech this quote came from in our article on the lady legend herself (right here!), but in the meantime, let's just revel in these words.
This is one of our favorites because it's simple, it's intersectional, and it beautifully conveys an important reminder and truth: that our fight is for all women--everywhere--regardless of race, ethnicity, background, sexual orientation, etc.
Here’s something that shouldn’t need to be said, but unfortunately the fight for reproductive rights is far from won. Even today, there are state governments actively working to strip women of access to important health services and to criminalize the administration of certain kinds of health care (if you want to know more about the current state of affairs, you can check the deets here). Kamala Harris made history when she became the first female Vice President of the United States and is continues to make us proud by using her platform to center women's issues and fight for our rights.
Queen of the quick-witted and devastating quip, the outspoken actress and all around gem Carrie Fisher graced us with this too-true feminist quote that gives voice to something we all know but don’t hear enough. Agism is a pernicious facet of misogyny that can doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Thankfully that changes a little bit every day, and representation by women like Carrie Fisher, Dolly Parton, Elizabeth Warren, and others in the public eye who continue to do what they're best at, even beyond their youth, are making all the difference.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have more and more young women stepping up and making their voices heard as well, making sure women are represented in positions of power and traditionally male dominated spaces like Congress.
We like this feminist quote because it acknowledges the circumstances of the women who came before her, who effectively had to blend in to stay in, and also continues to push the boundaries of what women can and should look like in different spheres of society. While her femininity may not always play to her favor, she's opening doors for the next generation by normalizing yet another way for successful women to dress, look, and speak. A fearless, flawless feminist :)
This feminist quote comes journalist and writer Jia Tolentino’s book of essays called Trick Mirror (a recommendation from our summer reading list), which explores internet culture, self image, and feminism in the 21st century. And it makes sense coming off the heels of the AOC quote just above. Like all of us here at The Feminista, she’s dreaming of a world in which a person’s gender or the way they look doesn’t dictate our response to them--that a person wearing lipstick and hoop earrings garners just as much respect as a man in a suit and that we don't have to waste our valuable brain space thinking about or defending things like that at all.
Remember when poet Amanda Gorman knocked our socks off with her recital of The Hill We Climb at Biden’s Inauguration back in January 2020? In it, she addresses women of the U.S. and around the world and reminds us that we're most pow-her-ful when we come together and fight for change. That’s why this blog and The Feminista brand exists--to build community around our shared goal of gender equality--and this feminist verse captures it beautifully.
Roxane Gay is one of the most influential and important feminist voices out there right now. If Amanda Gorman is telling us that we need to come together as, then in this quote, Gay agrees, but adds that it's important not think of ourselves as a monolith.
Our focus may be feminism, but discrimination happens outside of the spectrum of gender as well--across race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and beyond. And Roxane Gay reminds us to acknowledge those diverse and varied experiences of oppression because our failure to do so results in the same kind of erasure we're fighting against.
Reni Eddo-Lodge is an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and author of Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. This feminist quote comes from that 2017 bestseller, and offers some useful perspective on systems of oppression given our understanding of the way feminism acts as a response to the patriarchal structures in our lives. If we aim to be intersectional in our feminism, it's something we all need to recognize and understand.
Laverne Cox is an Emmy-nominated actress, film producer, and equal rights activist who has done so much to push feminism forward in our lifetimes. The fluidity of gender expression as it exists today is thanks in part to women like Cox, who has graciously shared her story with the world in order to give people a better sense of the trans experience.
And if you happen to be a cis-woman who doesn't think that has anything to do with you, just remember that it's always the people and ideas that seem most "out there" that move the needle for the rest of us.
We've all heard this one before, but do you know where it came from? None other than the first female Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, delivered this line back in 1991, but it resurfaced during Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign a few years back. This feminist quote is not messing around and we're here for it, but the message is also important: empowered women empower women, not tear each other down.
Speaking of feminism with a hint of shade, this one says it all. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is most famous for her book, We Should All Be Feminists, and her accompanying TED Talk, in which she shares this sentiment--that men of quality shouldn't fear equality and that she doesn't have time for the kind that do. We are with you.
This one comes from an iconic interview which you can watch here, in which Cher delivers this line a totally straight face because, well, she's famous and successful and she honestly does not need a man (aka: in this story, the princess saves herself).
But that sentiment doesn't just go for the wildly rich and famous. Every woman deserves to feel like she's enough--all on her own.
If you don’t know Nawal El Saadawi by now, it’s time to change that. She was an Egyptian feminist activist, writer, physician, and psychologist, known for confronting aggression against women’s bodies--especially female circumcision--and for founding the first independent feminist organization in Egypt, the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association.
This feminist quote comes from one of her novels, Woman at Point Zero, and we love it so much we put it on a t-shirt. If you feel so inclined, go ahead and rock it to remind the world that a woman is free to make her own decisions--regarding her reproductive rights, the kind of life she wants to live, etc. Preach.
Always ahead of her time, first with The Vindication of the Rights of Women and then with this gem of a quote, feminist (s)hero Mary Wollstonecraft just wants to remind you in 18th century English that you're worth more than just your hand in a partnership and that we need not submit to men, ladies, but to reason instead :)
In an article for Time magazine, Ava DuVernay, Oscar nominee and the first African American woman to win Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival, wrote all about what gives her hope. In it, she talks about how far we've come in Hollywood and beyond--more voices are being heard, more diverse stories are being told, and there are more ways than ever to sidestep oppressive systems like the patriarchy and inherently racist power structures to tell those stories.
She continues, "...and so that's what gives me hope: to know that this present moment will be the past soon and the future is what we will make it." So what will we make of it? Let's get out there and do some feminist good :)
As always, thanks for reading. We'll see you next week for more of The F Word, our weekly newsletter and blog on all things feminist, from activism to fashion and beyond. Want it delivered? Scroll down, sign up, and we’ll send it straight to your inbox.