Jessica Valenti Quotes

Quotes about:

• Hearing the Beastie Boys speak out against sexism made me feel like if these men who had once sung about getting girls to 'do the laundry' and 'clean up my room' could understand, maybe the rest of the world would follow suit. It made me hopeful in the best way.

  Jessica Valenti

  Girl, Boys, Men

  46 Copy quote

• Value yourself for what the media doesn't - your intelligence, your street smarts, your ability to play a kick-ass game of pool, whatever. So long as it's not just valuing yourself for your ability to look hot in a bikini and be available to men, it's an improvement.

  Jessica Valenti

  Smart, Men, Media

  Jessica Valenti (2014). “Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters”, p.106, Seal Press

  39 Copy quote

• [Virginity is] a cultural ideology that conflates passivity - the act of not having sex - with superior morality.

  Jessica Valenti

  Sex, Morality, Ideology

  3 Copy quote

• The studies about differences between the sexes that you see kind of get propped up in the media are more often than not denigrating women in some way, saying that women really don't have any spatial understanding, and that's why they can't park.

  Jessica Valenti

  Sex, Media, Differences

  Source: bigthink.com

  3 Copy quote

• Feminism isn't simply about being a woman in a position of power. It's battling systemic inequities; it's a social justice movement that believes sexism, racism and classism exist and interconnect, and that they should be consistently challenged.

  Jessica Valenti

  Believe, Position Of Power, Racism

  28 Copy quote

• Men in their hearts hate women. It doesn’t matter how much we love them. They hate us”

  Jessica Valenti

  Hate, Heart, Men

  20 Copy quote

• Men take what women make and claim it as their own.Men don’t love childrenThey kill them in a heartbeat to hurt a woman

  Jessica Valenti

  Hurt, Children, Women

  21 Copy quote

• I think motherhood has made issues all feel much more urgent than they did before. So it didn't necessarily change how I feel about certain things - it just fired me up to be even more active on behalf of my daughter.

  Jessica Valenti

  Daughter, Motherhood, Thinking

  Source: www.omnivoracious.com

  3 Copy quote

• In 1986, Gloria Steinem wrote that if men got periods, they 'would brag about how long and how much': that boys would talk about their menstruation as the beginning of their manhood, that there would be 'gifts, religious ceremonies' and sanitary supplies would be 'federally funded and free'. I could live without the menstrual bragging - though mine is particularly impressive - and ceremonial parties, but seriously: Why aren't tampons free?

  Jessica Valenti

  Religious, Party, Boys

  "The case for free tampons?" by Jessica Valenti, www.theguardian.com. August 11, 2014.

  33 Copy quote

• The Internet is the new public space. And because women are out in public, people don't like that in much the same way that if you're walking down the street you get harassed. I think the same kind of thing happens online, and I think that's why a lot of women are hesitant to put their voice out there.

  Jessica Valenti

  Thinking, Voice, Space

  Source: bigthink.com

  7 Copy quote

• It seems odd that we continue to worry about the reputations of men who are accused of sexual wrong-doings.

  Jessica Valenti

  Men, Worry, Reputation

  "Why does everyone feel so sorry for men accused of being predators?" by Jessica Valenti, www.theguardian.com. July 14, 2014.

  9 Copy quote

• I think the biggest obstacle I still have to overcome is myself, and just kind of struggling every day with what to do with the work and where to go next.

  Jessica Valenti

  Struggle, Thinking, Overcoming

  Source: bigthink.com

  4 Copy quote

• Wanting to be liked means being a supporting character in your own life, using the cues of the actors around you to determine your next line rather than your own script. It means that your self-worth will always be tied to what someone else thinks about you, forever out of your control.

  Jessica Valenti

  Character, Mean, Self Worth

  "She Who Dies With the Most 'Likes' Wins?" by Jessica Valenti, www.thenation.com. November 29, 2012.

  9 Copy quote

• Now, should we treat women as independent agents, responsible for themselves? Of course. But being responsible has nothing to do with being raped. Women don’t get raped because they were drinking or took drugs. Women do not get raped because they weren’t careful enough. Women get raped because someone raped them.

  Jessica Valenti

  Drinking, Independent, Drug

  Jessica Valenti (2009). “The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women”, p.151, Seal Press

  13 Copy quote

• The stereotypes of feminists as ugly, or man-haters, or hairy, or whatever it is - that's really strategic. That's a really smart way to keep young women away from feminism, is to kind of put out this idea that all feminists hate men, or all feminists are ugly; and that they really come from a place of fear.

  Jessica Valenti

  Hate, Smart, Men

  8 Copy quote

• I know I certainly wouldn't be writing books if it hadn't been for the feminist blogosphere, and I think that's a really amazing thing. And just the sheer power of outreach I think is incredible. It used to be that if someone was to get involved in feminism, it was probably because they were already interested. They were already interested in feminism; they were already interested in being an activist, and they found their way to like a NOW meeting or to a consciousness-raising group or something like that.

  Jessica Valenti

  Book, Writing, Thinking

  Source: bigthink.com

  3 Copy quote

• If your husband is cheating on you, it doesn't mean that you need to get prettier -- it means he's a scumbag.

  Jessica Valenti

  Cheating, Husband, Mean

  Jessica Valenti (2014). “Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters”, p.91, Seal Press

  9 Copy quote

• Yes, the more successful you are—or the stronger, the more opinionated—the less you will be generally liked. All of a sudden people will think you’re too braggy, too loud, too something. But the trade-off is undoubtedly worth it. Power and authenticity are worth it.

  Jessica Valenti

  Successful, Thinking, Careers

  12 Copy quote

• Present-day American society-whether through pop culture, religion, or institutions-conflates sexuality and morality constantly. Idolizing virginity as a stand-in for women’s morality means that nothing else matters-not what we accomplish, not what we think, not what we care about and work for. Just if/how/whom we have sex with. That’s all.

  Jessica Valenti

  Sex, Mean, Thinking

  Jessica Valenti (2009). “The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women”, p.24, Seal Press

  9 Copy quote

• I ask myself a lot how other women can be against the ideology that has to do with women empowering other women. Going along with the access of power and the status quo and forging a special position and the thought process that goes: I am not like those women. When it comes to things like assault, for example, perhaps it makes them feel safer. It's the denial: I'm okay. This won't happen to me. Acknowledging that the world is a profoundly unsafe for women is a scary thought.

  Jessica Valenti

  Empowering, Scary, Special

  Source: therumpus.net

  3 Copy quote

• It's become impossible to enjoy most quality television shows because the hurt or endangered women device is so frequently used.

  Jessica Valenti

  Hurt, Quality, Television

  10 Copy quote

• When are we going to realize that hating other women - no matter how much money they have or how far they've fallen - is just as bad for ourselves as it is for anyone else?

  Jessica Valenti

  Hate, Matter, Realizing

  Jessica Valenti (2009). “He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know”, p.113, Seal Press

  26 Copy quote

• Be as pissed off as you want to be. Don’t hold back because you think it’s unladylike or some such nonsense. We shouldn’t be shamed out of our anger. We should be using it. Using it to make change in our own lives, and using it to make change in the lives around us. (I know, I’m cheesy.) So the next time someone calls you emotional, or asks if you’re PMSing, call them on their bullshit.

  Jessica Valenti

  Emotional, Thinking, Bullshit

  Jessica Valenti (2009). “He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know”, p.69, Seal Press

  8 Copy quote

• Sex for pleasure, for fun, or even for building relationships is completely absent from our national conversation. Yet taking the joy out of sexuality is a surefire way to ensure not that young women won't have sex, but rather that they'll have it without pleasure.

  Jessica Valenti

  Sex, Fun, Joy

  Jessica Valenti (2009). “The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women”, p.43, Seal Press

  3 Copy quote

• Women do not get raped because they weren’t careful enough. Women get raped because someone raped them.

  Jessica Valenti

  Enough, Careful

  Jessica Valenti (2009). “The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women”, p.151, Seal Press

  3 Copy quote

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