Ten feminist quotes to learn by heart

By Holly O'Neill
08th Mar 2019

A band of 'news girls' of the Women's Suffrage Movement prepare to invade New York's Wall Street, armed with leaflets and slogans demanding votes for women. (Photo by Paul Thompson/Getty Images)

Or, let’s be honest, share on Instagram.

Happy International Women’s Day!

What can I say that hasn’t be said more eloquently than the women below? Truly we are standing on the shoulders of giants.

“I think the person who said, “Honey, if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament” was right.” – Gloria Steinem

“I think women who reject the term don’t know what it means. It’s not a concept you reject. If you’re a feminist, you believe in equal opportunities.” – Lena Dunham

“What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy, and smug they might be.” – Caitlin Moran

“The only jobs for which no man is qualified are human incubators and wet nurse. Likewise, the only job for which no woman is or can be qualified is sperm donor.” – Wilma Scott Heide

“Riots not diets.” – Anonymous

A post shared by Claire Brewster (@claire_brewster) on Oct 7, 2016 at 3:26am PDT

“The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.” – Adrienne Rich

“After they’ve been sexualized and hounded and harassed and bombarded from pretty much every angle with the notion that they are sexual objects, there to be sexualized and fantasized about and pursued, then they get ripped to shreds for being too sexy.” – Laura Bates, Everyday Sexism

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Y. Davis

“Some people ask, “Why the word feminist? Why not say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?” Because that would be dishonest, to choose the vague expression of human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women. That the problem was not about being human, but specifically about being a female human. For centuries, the world divided human beings into two groups and then proceeded to exclude and oppress one group. It is only fair that the solution to the problem should acknowledge that.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists

“I’m a feminist. I’ve been a female for a long time now. It’d be stupid not to be on my own side.” – Maya Angelou