“Forget conventionalisms; forget what the world thinks of you stepping out of your place; think your best thoughts, speak your best words, work your best works, looking to your own conscience for approval.”— Susan B. Anthony, amazon.com
“I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny—a thousand things, bef…”— J.K Rowling, mentalfloss.com
“I don’t feel like I have to please anyone. I feel free. I feel like I’m an adult. I’m grown. I can do what I want. I can say what I want. I can retire if I want. That’s why I’ve worked hard.”— Beyoncé, marieclaire.co.uk
“I've never set out to write a funny movie or be a funny comedian as a woman. I am a woman. I don't really have a choice in the matter. My goal is just to be funny.”— Maya Rudolph, brainyquote.com
“Marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach gir…”— Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, globalcitizen.org
“I know I’m no glamour girl, and it’s not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I’ve got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing”— Ella Fitzgerald, nlcatp.org
“Hopefully as you get older, you start to learn how to live with your demon. It’s hard at first. Some people give their demon so much room that there is no space in their head or bed for love. They feed their demon and it gets really strong and then it makes them stay in abusive relationships or star…”— Amy Poehler, amazon.com
“My mother always told me, 'hide your face-people are looking at you.' I would reply, 'It does not matter; I am also looking at them.'”— Malala Yousafzai, amazon.com
“You want me to tell you what my husband thinks? My husband is not secretary of state; I am. If you want my opinion, I will tell you my opinion. I am not going to be channeling my husband.”— Hillary Clinton, marieclaire.com
“In too many instances, the march to globalization has also meant the marginalization of women and girls. And that must change.”— Hillary Clinton, marieclaire.com
“Once again she would arrive at a foreign place. Once again be the newcomer, an outsider, the one who did not belong. She knew from experience that she would quickly have to ingratiate herself with her new masters to avoid being rejected or, in more dire cases, punished. Then there would be the phase…”— Laura Esquivel, amazon.com
“She may have looked normal on the outside, but once you'd seen her handwriting you knew she was deliciously complicated inside.”— Jeffrey Eugenides, amazon.com
“I went out with a guy who once told me I didn’t need to drink to make myself more fun to be around. I told him, I’m drinking so that you’re more fun to be around.”— Chelsea Handler, amazon.com
“She held herself very straight, like Audrey Hepburn, whom all women idolize and men never think about.”— Jeffrey Eugenides, amazon.com
“A woman half dressed seemed to have some power, but a man was simply not as handsome as when he was naked, and not as secure as when he was clothed.”— John Irving, amazon.com
“Although she was fragile in appearance, every prohibition lost substance in her presence. She knew how to go beyond the limit without ever truly suffering the consequences. In the end people gave in, and were even, however unwillingly, compelled to praise her.”— Elena Ferrante, amazon.com
“We call ships ‘she’. We call our machines 'women’. We compare women to black widows and vipers. And you’re going to tell me it’s not 'lady-like’ to scream, to take up space, to fight and demand respect and do whatever I want. You’ve looked at nuclear bombs and been so in awe that you could only name…”— Anonymous, naamahdarling.tumblr.com
“I'm very much against the arrangement of procreation, at least for humans. If I could have designed it, it would be a toss-up who gets pregnant, the man or woman. Boy, that would end rape for one thing. And 'woman artist'? Disgusting.”— Dorothea Tanning, amazon.com