Words hold power. They can inspire, challenge, and push us to think differently. Feminist quotes, in particular, have a special way of igniting that spark inside us. They remind us of our strength and the ongoing fight for equality.
In this article, we gather some of the most fierce and impactful feminist quotes. These words from trailblazing women will fuel your spirit, challenge your thoughts, and maybe even make you smile. Get ready to feel inspired and empowered.
Powerful Feminist Quotes
“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” – Virginia Woolf
“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” – Gloria Steinem
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don’t owe it to your mother, you don’t owe it to your children, you don’t owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female.'” – Erin McKean
“Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” – Madonna
“Women are the real architects of society.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
“To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” – Spanish Proverb
“Some women fear the fire. Some women simply become it.” – R.H. Sin
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” – Gloria Steinem
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” – Emma Watson
“Do not be afraid to set fire to old structures and build new ones from scratch.” – My Own Creation
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“A woman is like a tea bag—you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“I am not a bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” – Charlotte Brontë
“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
“She remembered who she was and the game changed.” – Lalah Delia
“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” – Sheryl Sandberg
“Your silence will not protect you.” – Audre Lorde
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” – Marie Shear
Insightful Feminist Quotes
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
“Women are the real architects of society.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” – Irina Dunn
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” – Unknown
“Women are not inherently passive or peaceful. We’re not inherently anything but human.” – Robin Morgan
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” – Roseanne Barr
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” – Spanish Proverb
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” – Gloria Steinem
“Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” – Emma Watson
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“Women are always saying, ‘We can do anything that men can do.’ But men should be saying, ‘We can do anything that women can do.'” – Gloria Steinem
“Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts—good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt.” – Oprah Winfrey
“I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.” – Audre Lorde
“A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Females are strong as hell.” – The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
“There is no such thing as a slut. Only people who are shamed for being human.” – Unknown
“The history of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.” – Virginia Woolf
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” – Sheryl Sandberg
Bold Feminist Quotes
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” – Melinda Gates
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” – Marie Shear
“Women are the real architects of society.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
“Women must not accept; she must challenge.” – Margaret Sanger
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Don’t be the girl who fell. Be the girl who got back up.” – Jenette Stanley
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katharine Hepburn
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
“I would rather be handsome for an hour than pretty for a week.” – Tilda Swinton
“She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.” – Atticus Poetry
“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Here’s to strong women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” – Unknown
“When they go low, we go high.” – Michelle Obama
“What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” – Oprah Winfrey
“A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
“Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you. It’s you who can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
Empowering Feminist Quotes
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” – Irina Dunn
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” – Cheris Kramarae
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you. It’s you who can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
“Feminism is for everybody.” – bell hooks
“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.” – Marilyn Monroe
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“I am a strong woman because a strong woman raised me.” – Unknown
“She believed she could, so she did.” – Unknown
“The future is female.” – Unknown
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” – Gloria Steinem
“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“Women hold up half the sky.” – Mao Zedong
“We should all be feminists.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“It’s not my job to be likable. It’s my job to be myself. Someone will like you anyway.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Who run the world? Girls.” – Beyoncé
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
Resilient Feminist Quotes
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” – Gloria Steinem
“You don’t have to be anti-man to be pro-woman.” – Jane Galvin Lewis
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” – Cheris Kramarae
“There’s no evidence whatsoever that men are more rational than women. Both sexes seem to be equally irrational.” – Albert Ellis
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” – Gloria Steinem
“Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” – Hillary Clinton
“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” – Roseanne Barr
“The more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.” – Emma Watson
“Women are not inherently passive or peaceful. We’re not inherently anything but human.” – Robin Morgan
“Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” – Emma Watson
“Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams.” – Lady Gaga
“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley
“The most dangerous phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” – Grace Hopper
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to better.” – Frida Kahlo
“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart
“Strong women, may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.” – Unknown
“You deserve to take up space.” – Unknown
“Females are strong as hell.” – The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Summing Up
These powerful feminist quotes serve as reminders of the resilience and strength that women possess. They inspire us to stand up, speak out, and demand the respect and equality we deserve. Each quote is a testament to the ongoing struggle for gender equality.
Reading them, we can see the progress made, but also recognize the work still needed. Let these words fuel your passion and commitment to creating a world where everyone is valued equally. Thank you for exploring these voices of empowerment with us.