The following feminist phrases emphasize the concept of this heterogeneous movement that encompasses the political, social, economic and cultural struggles to achieve equality between men and women.
Through her teachings we can better understand the goals of feminism and become familiar with her daily, constant and unrelenting struggle.
- You can also read: The 10 types of feminism that exist today.
100 short feminist phrases to combat patriarchy
For decades feminism has managed to translate its struggles into real conquests : the incorporation of women into work and their departure from the domestic sphere, the right to vote and education, the rights of representation, equality before the law and reproductive rights such as the right to abortion.
However, unresolved issues continue to keep feminism a living and active movement. Salary equality or the fight against sexist violence are some examples of pending issues.
These are some phrases of feminism, radical, intellectual and funny, that express the spirit of the movement yesterday and today:
1. When you want democracy, you want feminism (Celia Amoros)
This theoretician of feminism rationalized the struggle with this phrase: feminism is the fight for the civil and democratic rights of women.
2. We will not dismantle the master’s house with the master’s tools (Audre Lorde)
A very famous phrase by this Afro-American writer in which she warns that the total liberation of women requires the destruction of the patriarchal system.
3. We owe the only fidelity to the body that inhabits our desires (Angeles Mastretta)
With this short sentence, Angeles Mastretta calls for a break with submission to men and for the conscious and total emancipation of women.
4. At random I am grateful for three gifts: being a woman, from a lower class and an oppressed nation. And the murky chance of being three times a rebel (Maria Merce Marcal)
A beautiful phrase from a Catalan poet, in which she links the feminist struggle with national and class liberation.
5. I prefer a dangerous freedom to a calm servitude (Maria Zambrano)
One of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century in Spain left one of the most epic phrases for the history of feminism, calling to fight for freedom at any price .
6. All women conceive ideas, but not all conceive children (Emilia Pardo Bazan)
“… the human being is not a fruit tree that is only grown for the harvest”, continued this phrase of the famous Spanish writer, claiming theovercoming the reproductive dimension of women.
7. Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women fear that men will kill them (Margaret Atwood)
This activist and member of Amnesty International recalled with these words the harshness that many women face, and the importance of the feminist struggle.
8. Well-behaved women rarely make history (Eleanor Roosevelt)
An incitement to rebellion from the former first lady of the United States, and a complaint: women always have to prove more to go further.
9. The problem of women has always been a problem of men (Simone de Beauvoir)
One of the best-known sentences of this icon of feminism, in which she puts the patriarchal system as the sole and direct cause of the situation of women.
10. We had two options: be silent and die, or speak and die (Malala Yousafzai)
Phrase that invites to rebel against the emergency situation of violence against women, from the hand of a current reference of courage, Malala Yousafzai, who survived to an attack by the Taliban for his ideas.
11. Every woman has the right to herself and to do what she has to do (Ani di Franco)
Phrase that defines the concept of self-determination of women, from Ani di Franco, singer-songwriter and feminist icon from the United States.
12. While we loved, men ruled (Kate Millet)
Writer, filmmaker, philosopher and activist. Kate Millet thus spoke of what for her has been the opium of women in history: love .
13. You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably. And so you are beautiful (Amy Bloom)
One of the current causes of feminism is the fight against aesthetic canons, and this is what this psychotherapist calls women’s self-esteem.
14. We cannot have a revolution that does not involve and liberate women (John Lennon)
In this case it is a man, John Lennon, who claims the liberation of women as an inalienable condition for the revolution.
15. A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle (Gloria Steinem)
This journalist, persecuted for her opinions within a macho society, reflects with this well-known phrase that men are expendable for women.
16. Do you think that feminism is to hate men
(Cindy Lauper)
We remember her for that catchy “Girls just wanna get fun”, but she was also akin to the cause, and with this phrase I try to break certain prejudices.
17. Almost the entire story, “Anonymous” was a woman (Virginia Woolf)
One of the best writers in history thus denounced the invisibility of women in history.
18. Women are multi-orgasmic, men are not. Do you really think we are inferior
(Mary Swift)
The Australian journalist Mary Swift questioned male superiority.
19. Women have to fill themselves with courage to achieve their dreams asleep (Alice Walker)
This African-American writer valued courage as the engine of liberation.
20. Fall in love with yourself, with life. And after whoever you want (Frida Kahlo)
The famous artist was a recognized feminist in favor of her emancipation in every way, and that happened, according to her, to strengthen her own self-esteem .
21. Women are the only oppressed group in our society who live in close association with their oppressors (Evelyn Cunningham)
A new warning of the need to break with the patriarchy to achieve women’s freedom.
22. If someone considers being limited by their gender, race or origin, they will become even more limited (Carly Fiorina)
Invitation from that renowned American businesswoman to break the mental margins that some women self-impose due to their condition.
23. No woman can be considered free when she does not have control over her own body (Margaret Sanger)
The right to one’s own body has represented one of the most intense combats of feminism in recent history.
24. Language, the word, is one more form of power, one of many that has been prohibited to us (Victoria Sau)
One of the central figures of feminism in Spain, Victoria Sau, claims the right of expression as a weapon seized from women in their struggles.
25. The prolonged slavery of women is the blackest page in the history of humanity (Elisabeth Cady Stanton)
The whole essence of the fight against the oppression of women can be summed up in this sentence.
26. I will not be a free woman while there are still oppressed women (Audre Lorde)
See the feminist struggle as a common cause and not individual.
27. Male and female roles are not biologically fixed, but are socially constructed (Judith Butler)
Judith Butler is one of the most influential thinkers of the third wave of feminism, which emphasizes gender identities: her thesis is summed up in this sentence.
28. Men only create wars, women only create peace (Jessy Dillon)
In a satirical and allegedly hyperbolic way, Jessy Dillon portrays the role of women in history and their potential.
29. Oppressing men is a tragedy, oppressing women is a tradition (Letty Cottin)
This phrase has become very popular in feminism because it highlights the inequality between men and women .
30. The feeling of security and independence is better than sex (Susan Anthony)
Feminist phrase that claims that women prioritize their own position before affective or sexual relationships.
31. The only way to find yourself is by knowing yourself (Betty Friedan)
Feminist activist Betty Friedan emphasizes the importance of consciousness as the first step to liberation.
32. Only stupid men want stupid women (Robert Tier)
In a funny way, Robert Tier ridiculed men who do not value a woman’s intellect.
33. Feminism is the radical notion that women are people (Virginia Woolf)
Thus, in an ironic but forceful way, Virginia Woolf combated those who consider the feminist cause expendable or secondary, and those who brand it as radical.
34. Housework is more stressful than hunting (Nancy Mitford)
Among the funny phrases of feminismyou find this irony from the early 20th century English novelist Nancy Mitford.
35. When a man loves his work, he is a genius. When a woman does it, he is a “geek” (Dorothy Sayers)
A reflection on the double standards that exist with men and women in the workplace.
36. A prostitute is someone who has left the margins of society (Jaclyn Friedman)
This feminist writer remembered how men consider women when they stray from the marked path.
37. The gender is between the ears, and not between the legs (Chaz Bono)
Daughter of the singer Cher, the activist Chez Bono thus defines gender as a matter of mentality, not purely sexual or biological.
38. The Vatican does not judge pedophilia, but condemns a woman who does not want to have children (Sonya Renee)
This activist’s frontal criticism of the Catholic Church’s treatment of women.
39. Sexuality is like languages, we can all learn one (Beatriz Preciado)
This referent of the queer movement explains in an ironic way that sexuality is a social construct from which we can all free ourselves.
40. What we women still have to learn is that nobody gives us power. We have to take it ourselves (Roseanne Barr)
This American comedian claimed the need for women to assume their power through personal will.
41. Being excluded from power gives women freedom of thought, accompanied by enormous fragility (Fatima Mernissi)
An expression of the contradiction in which many women find themselves, who need a loudspeaker to make themselves heard but, when they have one, they are persecuted for what they say.
42. I consider my body to be an instrument, not an object (Alanis Morrissette)
A musical metaphor against the vision of women as objects.
43. Both sexes are not superior or inferior to each other. They are different (Gregorio Maranon)
The renowned Spanish doctor thus gave scientific overtones to gender equality .
44. I do not want women to have power over men, but over themselves (Mary Wollstonecraft)
In addition to being a brilliant writer, she had a deep awareness of the struggle of women for their liberation: in this sentence her desire for equality is summed up .
45. Privilege is the greatest enemy of law (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach)
This nineteenth-century legal theorist referred to feminism as the elimination of men’s privileges to achieve women’s equality before the law.
46. Feminism is the freedom to choose what you want (Nancy Reagan)
That’s how simple the American first lady saw it: a liberal vision of feminism.
47. Feminism is not just for women, it is for everyone to have a fuller life (Jane Fonda)
The famous actress spoke like this about the enormous dimension of the feminist struggle.
48. I hate men who are afraid of women (Anais Nin)
This writer of Cuban-Spanish origin thus expressed the inalienable power that women have, despite the fear of some men .
49. The test to know whether or not you can do a job should not be your chromosomes (Bella Abzug)
This American lawyer and activist of Jewish origin combated labor discrimination in this way: appealing to common sense.
50. There are very few jobs that require having a penis or a vagina (Florynce Kennedy)
Funny phrase that calls for equality between men and women at work.
- You can also read: 10 women who changed the history of the world.
51. The word feminism needs to be rescued in a way that is inclusive for men (Annie Lenox)
It highlights the inclusive factor of feminism , the need to incorporate men in the fight for women’s rights.
52. She understands that no woman would marry a man who hates her mother (Martha Gellhorn)
This psychology linked mother-child roles to describe the affective relationship of a man with a woman.
53. They hate feminism because they hate women (Andrea Dworkin)
This radical feminist activist considered that the contempt for her ideas stemmed from a deep animosity towards women.
54. Freedom is being you and me (Ruth Bader)
A forceful statement that speaks of the freedom of men and women, on an equal footing.
55. When a man gives his opinion, he is a man. When a woman does it, she is a whore (Bette Davis)
Irony of this famous actress in the context of a society in which it was not well seen that a woman gave her opinion.
56. Women are the true architects of society (Harriet Beecher Stower)
The nineteenth-century abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stower raised her voice to recall the importance of the role of women in society.
57. Feminism is not just an idea, it is a philosophy (Roxane Gay)
On the importance of feminism as a movement, the writer Roxane Gay considers it a system of thought .
58. When you educate a man, you educate a man. When you educate a woman, you educate a generation (BrighamYoung)
A phrase about the importance of women as pillars of society.
59. I am strong, I am ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a “bitch”, that’s fine (Madonna)
With that forcefulness Madonna spoke of the importance of a woman becoming her own owner .
60. It is not my responsibility to be beautiful (Warsan Shire)
“I am not alive for this purpose. My existence is not about how desirable they find me”, follows the sentence of this Somali poet.
61. If you want to be strong, you better have a cone: This takes all the blows! (Sheng Wang)
This is one of the funny phrases that refers to the strength that women possess.
62. The worst thing you can call a man is a whore, a fagot, a woman… (Jessica Valenti)
It highlights the sense of superiority of the man through his virility.
63. The woman is not born, she is made (Simone de Beauvoir) This is
how feminist theory spoke about the woman’s personality as a construction that should aspire to free herself from her cultural and social corsets.
64. What really matters is that they educate men not to rape (Kurt Cobain)
The protest icon considered that the root to end machismo was to educate men.
65. The woman’s body is the last frontier of capitalism (Silvia Federicci)
This theorist of feminism continues to defend today that capitalism has its roots in the oppression of women.
66. The rights of women and girls is the pending task of the 21st century (Hillary Clinton)
The North American first lady thus pointed out the achievements of women’s rights as the great challenge of the new century.
67. The Victorian woman became her ovaries, in the same way that the woman of today has become her beauty (Naomi Wolf)
This political writer denounces with this phrase the dictatorship that aesthetics and image exert on the body of the women.
68. No country can prosper if it limits the potential of women (Michelle Obama)
The well-known first lady of the United States emphasized on several occasions the power of women as an engine of social change.
69. I am a feminist and have been a woman for many years. It would be idiotic to consider not being on my side (Maya Angelou)
This civil rights activist made this reflection in the last stage of her life as a vindication of herself.
70. He is a gentleman and I am the daughter of one, therefore now we are equal (Jane Austen)
In this funny and ironic way, Jane Austen put on the table the character of equals among human beings regardless of sex.
71. Believing that we no longer need feminism is a falsehood (Yoko Ono)
The artist and human rights activist continues to claim the importance of feminism today .
72. I know that as a woman I have more strength than I think I have (Evita Peron)
One of the women most adored by her people, Evita, thus vindicated the potential of women.
73. Feminism is always considered a radical movement, and it should be (Ellen Page)
A call to make the struggle of women a priority , and go to the end with all its consequences.
74. In the future there will be no women leaders, but only leaders (Sheryl Sandberg)
An ingenious play on words with the hope that in a few years the division between women and men in the professional field will disappear.
75. I don’t know any woman who has an orgasm from polishing the kitchen floor (Betty Friedman)
A well-known phrase that calls for freeing women from the domestic sphere.
76. Women have a brain and a uterus, and can use both (Karren Brady)
This executive speaks of the need for women to recognize their potential.
77. We must free half of the population to help the other half to free themselves (Emmeline Pankhurst)
The leader of the British women’s vote movement left this intelligent phrase for history: for her, the half that must be liberated is the woman, in order to liberate the man.
78. Equality is like gravity: inevitable (Joss Whedon)
A feminist phrase about its need from a man: producer Joss Whedon.
79. Feminism will also benefit men (Karin Slaughter)
That feminism is a transversal movement that improves all of society as a whole is claimed by this black novel writer.
80. Women have always been the strongest in the world (Coco Chanel)
This affirmation of the strength of women emphasizes her sense of self-awareness.
81. Being a woman is like being Irish: everyone tells you how nice you are, but you’re always in the background (Iris Murdoch)
A funny phrase about the not so funny reality of women in society.
82. There is no female thought. The brain is not a sexual organ (Charlotte Perkins)
In this ingenious phrase, the intellectual and activist Charlotte Perkins claimed the need for feminist thought.
83. A man once told me that for a woman I had too much opinion. I tells him that for a man he was quite ignorant (Anne Hathaway)
Again an actress, like Bette Davis at her time, ironizes about the fact that she despises the woman when she gives her opinion.
84. Women, when we work together, we achieve great things (Leticia Dolera)
An intelligent feminist phrase about the need for women to work together .
85. Excellence is the best way to combat racism and sexism (Oprah Winfrey)
This American celebrity, of great social influence, proposes her own example and constant work to defeat racists and sexists.
86. When God created man, she was practicing (Rita Mae Brown)
A witty joke that serves to extol women’s ability to work.
87. Some women decide to follow men, others follow their dreams (Lady Gaga)
The American pop diva talks aboutthe non-negotiable independence of women .
88. Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere (Helen Gurley Brown)
One of the most popular phrases of the feminist movement, proclaimed by the writer and businesswoman Helen Gurley.
89. Beauty is not a rent that you pay to be occupying a space in the women’s market (Erin McKean)
This intellectual very involved in the cause reflects forcefully on the predominance of beauty over intelligence when it comes to With a woman.
90. The question is not who is going to leave me, but who is going to stop me (Ayn Rand)
One of those phrases that just by reading them invites you to fight for your rights.
91. It took me years to be able to sit in front of the table and the blank paper (Erica Jong)
This writer reveals from her personal experience how hard the road to success and personal fulfillment is for women.
92. We give birth, we decide (slogan)
Among the most popular feminist expressions is this call for women’s reproductive rights.
94. All the misfortunes of this world come from oblivion and contempt for women’s rights (Flora Tristan)
Intelligent and serious phrase from this nineteenth-century French thinker and fighter.
95. Humanity needs both women and men. So why treat us like less than equal
(Beyonce)
The queen of American R&B positioned herself with this phrase in favor of feminism clearly.
96. Economic independence is the first step (Ayaan Harsi)
Not depending on men and becoming someone autonomous is the basis for thinking and acting for oneself, according to this Somali activist, feminist and atheist.
97. “Easy” is the adjective used to define a woman who has the same morals as a man (Nancy Linn-Desmmond)
This writer uncovers in an ironic and forceful way the hypocrisy of society that treats men unequally and women in question of morality.
98. Femininity is the art of being servile (Virginie Despentes)
This top-level intellectual has a radical vision of feminism that goes through, among other things,the critique of femininity as a social cliche .
99. Feminism will never be understood if it is only understood by a few (Margin Hooks)
This American athlete linked the fight for racial rights with feminism and joined the cause of women trying to spread the movement.
100. When they tried to shut me up, I yelled (Teresa Wilms Montt)
One last sentence full of energy and hope for the feminist cause.
- You can read more feminist and empowering phrases in the following link.
