“John Currin's exaggerated realism and his twisted women kept me off balance, never knowing if they were sincere or ironic or some new emotion.”
Women have always shaped the world, even when the world refused to acknowledge it. These quotes explore feminism, strength, identity, motherhood, ambition, and the ongoing work of making sure half the population gets a full seat at the table.
“Men need to understand, and women too, what feminism is really about.”
“John Currin's exaggerated realism and his twisted women kept me off balance, never knowing if they were sincere or ironic or some new emotion.”
“The most virtuous women have something within them, something that is never chaste.”
“Through my travels, I find inspiration in street style and how young women create their individual looks and identity.”
“My mother was very strong. Once, she picked up a coconut and smashed it against my father's head. It taught me about women defending themselves and not collapsing in a heap.”
“If you live in rock and roll, as I do, you see the reality of sex, of male lust and women being aroused by male lust. It attracts women. It doesn't repel them.”
“Big women do themselves a disservice when they attempt to become the Righteous Fat (the Righteous Thin are bad enough, all that running around and sweating, somehow believing it means anything).”
“There are older men with younger women but you don't see a lot of older women with younger men. There are some women who have been able to do it but not often.”
“If a country doesn't recognize minority rights and human rights, including women's rights, you will not have the kind of stability and prosperity that is possible.”
“I just like to have words that describe things correctly. Now to me, 'black feminist' does not do that. I need a word that is organic, that really comes out of the culture, that really expresses the spirit that we see in black women. And it's just... womanish.”
“Women can stand a beating except when it is with their own weapons.”
“Women don't want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think - in a deeper voice.”
“Young feminists have been sold a bill of goods about American feminism. The enormous changes in women over the past 40 years are constantly and falsely attributed to the organized women's movement of the late 1960s and '70s.”
“Some men have a silly theory about beautiful women - that somewhere along the line they'll turn into a monster. That movie gave them a chance to watch it happen.”
“Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors but they are seldom or ever inventors.”
“Many differences are rooted in biology and reinforced through culture, so it's important to acknowledge that. Because if you say men and women are the same and if male behaviour is the norm, and women are always expected to act like men, we will never be as good at being men as men are.”