For Women’s Equality Day, inspiring quotes to make you feel like a badass
Happy Women’s Equality! Today celebrates the 95th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment, or, women being allowed to vote in the United States. In 1971, Congress designated August 26th, the anniversary of women receiving the right to vote, as “Women’s Equality Day,” so happy 44th b-day WED!
In honor of this glorious day, we’ve rounded up some our favorite feminist quotes from some of our favorite feminists to power you through the day. We’ve accomplished a lot in the almost-century since the 19th amendment passed, and today is about celebrating those achievements, as well as recognizing all the work we need to do to obtain full equality. Here’s what some awesome women have to say about that:
“We cannot succeed when half of us are held back”- Malala Yousafzai
“[W]hen I’m sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the supreme court]? And I say ‘When there are nine.’ People are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“People’s reaction to me is sometimes ‘Uch, I just don’t like her. I hate how she thinks she is so great.’ But it’s not that I think I’m so great. I just don’t hate myself. I do idiotic things all the time and I say crazy stuff I regret, but I don’t let everything traumatize me. And the scary thing I have noticed is that some people really feel uncomfortable around women who don’t hate themselves. So that’s why you need to be a little bit brave.”- Mindy Kaling
“Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That’s their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood.”- Gloria Steinem
” ‘I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself.’ ”- Toni Morrison (Sula)
“I just love bossy women. I could be around them all day. To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody’s passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn’t mind leading.”-Amy Poehler
“If any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency.”- bell hooks
“I think now is our time. My mother was told by everyone that she had two choices: She could be a nurse or a teacher. The external barriers now are just so much lower. If we start acknowledging what the real issues are, we can solve them. It’s not that hard.”- Sheryl Sandberg
“Men think [feminism] is a women’s word. But what it means is that you believe in equality, and if you stand for equality, then you’re a feminist. Sorry to tell you. You’re a feminist. You’re a feminist. That’s it.”- Emma Watson
“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” —Maya Angelou
Related:
Awesomely inspiring feminist quotes to kickstart your day
Mindy Kaling quotes for every human and every situation
(Image via Wikipedia Commons)
