The road to gender equality is still far off and constantly changing. Still, we are hearing the voices of so many influential women and they are paving the right way for us through their words and deeds. Their powerful words live even after years, transcend to ages, and inspire generations of women. To celebrate the power of feminism, we have compiled some of the most powerful feminist quotes for those who always respect, admire, and embrace womanhood. Feminist interests vary widely, including equal pay, safe workplace, equal responsibility in household activities, and so on. Though these are some of the needs of all women, many are still not ready to call themselves feminists. This article sheds some light on the perceptions of inspiring women about feminism. These feminist quotes are not just to inform and educate, but to inspire generations to come.
As a woman who embraced feminism from my early teenage, I always noted some of the best feminist quotes and shared them with my friends and enjoyed reading them. You can find a lot of inspiring feminist quotes in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, The Second Sex, A Room of One’s Own, Becoming, The Feminine Mystique, Jane Eyre, and several other books which discussed women and their issues. From Mary Wollstonecraft to Roxane Gay, so many writers have contributed to the world of feminism to empower women of all times. All of these people endorsed feminism and advocated for the dignity, basic human rights and full potential of the female sex.
Here are some inspiring feminist quotes that may help change your perceptions about gender equality and feminism. feminist quotes. Reading these feminist quotes will make you feel more proud and give an extra push of encouragement whenever you feel struggling for freedom or inspiration. Let me know which one you find most inspiring on the list.
- “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – G.D. Anderson, Australian writer
- “Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.” – Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
- “If I want to define myself, I first have to say, “I am a woman”; all other assertions will arise from this basic truth. A man never begins by positing himself as an individual of a certain sex: that he is a man is obvious.” – Simon de Beauvoir, the Second Sex
- “As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.” – Virginia Woolf, Orlando
- “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”- Michelle Obama, Writer, Lawyers, and first lady of the US from 2009 to 2017
- “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” – Maya Angelou, American memoirist & poet
- “No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body. When women’s rights are under attack, we fight back.” – Kamala Harris, 49th vice president of the US
- “I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.” Jane Austen, English novelist
- “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde, American writer
- “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” – Melinda Gates, American philanthropist
- “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.”- Gloria Steinem, American Journalist
- “It’s not my responsibility to be beautiful. I’m not alive for that purpose. My existence is not about how desirable you find me.” – Warsan Shire, British Writer
- “I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.”- Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
- “I hear a lot of people saying, when talking about girls’ empowerment and women as well, you’ll often hear people saying, ‘You’re helping them find their voices, I fundamentally disagree with that. Women don’t need to find their voice. They need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen.” – Meghan Markle, Former actress and member of British Royal family
- “I’m tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.”- Madonna, American Singer, actress
- “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – G.D. Anderson, Australian activist and writer
- “To all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful, and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.” – Hillary Clinton, American politician & Diplomat
- “Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.” – Hellen Keller, American author
- “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with.” – Emma Watson, Actress and activist
- “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” —Oprah Winfrey, American television producer, and philanthropist
- “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter
- “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re weak because you’re a woman.”- Mary Kom, Indian Boxer
- “A huge part of being a feminist is giving other women the freedom to make choices you might not necessarily make yourself.” – Lena Dunham, American writer, director, and producer
- “Feminism’s agenda is basic: it asks that women not be forced to choose between public justice and private happiness.” – Susan Faludi, American Journalist & writer
- “A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty, but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one.” Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth
- “I know what I want, I have a goal, an opinion… Let me be myself and then I am satisfied. I know that I’m a woman, a woman with inward strength and plenty of courage.”- Anne Frank, The Diary Of A Young Girl
- “Let’s get this straight once and for all. It’s none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- “To me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace because it’s just basically another word for equality.” – Taylor Swift, American singer-songwriter
- “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”- Irina Dunn, Australian writer, filmmaker, and social activist
- “If you want to do something, what does it matter where you are ranked? Nor does being a woman make a difference.” – Kalpana Chawla, Indian-born American astronaut
- “A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.”― Vera Nazarian, Armenian-Russian writer
- “Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.” —Marilyn Monroe, American actress
- “Feminism is not a dirty word. It does not mean you hate men. It does not mean you hate girls that have nice legs and a tan, and it does not mean you are a bitch or a dyke, it means you believe in equality.” – Kate Nash, English Singer
- “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.” —Eleanor Roosevelt, American political figure and activist
- “I encourage women to step up. Don’t wait for somebody to ask you.” —Reese Witherspoon, American actress and producer
- “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” —Ayn Rand, Russian-born American writer
- “We need to encourage girls that their voice matters. I think there are hundreds and thousands of Malalas out there.” – Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani female education activist
- “My idea of feminism is self-determination, and it’s very open-ended: every woman has the right to become herself, and do whatever she needs to do.” – Ani DiFranco, American-Canadian singer-songwriter
- “No woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor.” —Betty Friedan, American writer
- “It’s not about the dress you wear. It’s about the life you lead in the dress.” -Diana Vreeland, French-American fashion columnist
- “I have learned that it is no one else’s job to take care of me but me.” -Beyoncé, American singer-songwriter
- “The easiest way to disregard a woman’s voice is to package her as a scold.” — Michelle Obama, Becoming
- “Being a feminist means believing that every woman should be able to use her voice and pursue her potential, and that women and men should all work together to take down the barriers and end the biases that still hold women back.” – Melinda Gates, The Moment of Lift
- “Your silence will not protect you.” – Audre Lorde, American writer & feminist
- “Feminism is not just about women; it’s about letting all people lead fuller lives.” – Jane Fonda, American actress
- “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
- “We cannot accept any code or creed that uniformly defrauds woman of all her natural rights.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Woman’s Bible
- It takes a great deal of courage and independence to decide to design your own image instead of the one that society rewards, but it gets easier as you go along.” -Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch
- “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” – Arundhati Roy, Indian author
- “Feminists are celebrating our victories and acknowledging our privilege when we have it. We’re simply refusing to settle. We’re refusing to forget how much work is yet to be done. We’re refusing to relish the comforts we have at the expense of the women who are still seeking comfort.” — Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist
- “The feminine mystique says that the highest value and the only commitment for women is the fulfillment of their own femininity. It says that the great mistake of Western culture, through most of its history, has been the undervaluation of this femininity.” – Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique
Hope you enjoyed reading these inspiring feminist quotes. Reading these feminist quotes will make you feel more confident, and proud and give an extra push of encouragement whenever you feel struggling for freedom or inspiration. Let me know which one you find most inspiring on the list.
