Life
Speaking out and speaking up are acts of resistance. So, what better way to kick off Women’s History Month than with some inspiring quotes to get ready for the Women’s Strike. You can share them on Facebook. Write them down in your daily planner. Tattoo them on your body for a more permanent form of inspiration. Whatever works for you. If you could use some words of wisdom from some wise women this month (or any month), I’ve got 13 for you.
In case you need a refresher, here is a little background on the "Day Without A Woman," which is often colloquially referred to as the Women's Strike. It will take place on March 8, coinciding with International Women’s Day. The location for the event? Everywhere and anywhere a woman does work. That could be your job, your home, or any of the other countless places where women contribute. Of course, there's also the matter of privilege to consider; not everyone has the ability to take the day off. With that in mind, the organizers of the Women's March, who have been vocal in their support of the strike, have provided other ways to participate in the women’s strike, like wearing red or shopping exclusively at women- and minority-owned small businesses.
Whether you’ll be refraining from work or wearing red in solidarity, get inspired for "A Day Without A Woman" with a few quotes from women who spoke out and spoke up.
1“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
2“I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I’m not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I’m right. I am just trying — trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself.”
3“If you want to know if you are going the right way, follow women of color.”
4“I've been counseled not to talk about this for career's sake. F my career then, I'm a woman & human first. That's what my craft is built on.”
5“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.”
6“There are plenty of people who won’t tune in because a woman’s voice bothers their eardrums. Their ear canals can’t handle the sound of my shrill voice talking at them about a subject. I guess I just don’t really care about those people.”
7“If I can do it, that means there are so many other people who are going to be able to do it. … I opened the floodgates.”
8“It can be really discouraging to see how far we still have to go and how much work still needs to be done before we can create a world where we’re all judged by how we are and not how we look, but I’m strengthened every day because I’m still here, I’m surviving, and I’m using my voice.”
9“The difference between a broken community and a thriving one is the presence of women who are valued.”
10“People ask me sometimes, when — when do you think it will it be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.”
11“I actually think that female anger isn’t that different from male anger. ... And yet, when a woman expresses that she is unhappy with the way in which our society exists, that’s a big f*cking problem. That’s crazy to me.”
12“It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for. It takes years to find your voice and seize your real estate.”
13“I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act.”
