Martha McSally Quotes

I never thought I was breaking a glass ceiling. I just had to do what I had to do, and it never occurred to me not to.

There's nothing masculine about being competitive. There's nothing masculine about trying to be the best at everything you do, nor is there anything wrong with it. I don't know why a female athlete has to defend her femininity just because she chooses to play sports.

I've been boxing ever since I was 16. I love surprising people who think a short, blond girl can't fight! Just because I look a certain way doesn't mean I'm weak.

I grew up in a time when women didn't really do comedy. You had to be homely, overweight, an old maid, all that. You had to play a stereotype, because very attractive women were not supposed to be funny - because it's powerful; it's a threat.

Basically, all my life I'd been told you can't do that because you're female. So I guess I just didn't pay any attention. I just went ahead and did what I could and then, when the stars aligned, I was ready.

There always will be stereotypes that women can't drive. When I hear the comments, it just makes me more determined to prove them wrong.

I definitely want to be an inspiration or a role model for all the little girls out there or anyone out there that wants to break stereotypes. I feel like I'm breaking stereotypes with what I'm doing. I'm not the typical fighter, and there's a lot of people out there that won't do something just because they don't fit the stereotype.

Unfortunately, people always tend to think that girls are weak when it comes to physical tasks. The pressure is there to prove them wrong.

In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits.

I look at someone like Kathryn Bigelow, and I have so much admiration. She's playing in the boy's sandpit, and winning.

It didn't matter how good I was. It was always, 'You're a girl. You can't play with the guys.' It's always been motivation for me.

Women don't necessarily understand that it is possible to have the same level of ambition as men - they allow themselves to be held back by the obstacles rather than empowered by the possibilities.

I portray female characters, so I have the opportunity to change the way people look at them. Even if I wasn't consciously doing that, it would happen anyway just because of how I present as a woman, or as a person. I present in a way that's not stereotypical, even if I'm playing a stereotypical role.

I think my being a combat pilot, being a woman who has had to break down barriers and succeed in a male-dominated environment, and, I think, just being in the military for 26 years have all helped me.

When you break glass ceilings, you're going to get minor scrapes by a shard or two from the glass.

If you are a woman and an actor, it does not mean that you have to contain or limit yourself to just being that.

My big thing is I like to be in a spot where I can have an opinion every single day, and I'm hoping to keep that going because, you know, it's not normal yet for women in this business to have an opinion, and I was very grateful that I got to do that.

Girls, we have to go 10 times harder than guys. We are still expected to give you the bars, give you the look, give you the routine. This is me - I wanna be a rapper, this is it.

Just because I'm a girl and it's pop doesn't mean I have to write about love and heartbreak.

Nobody expects girls to do something smart or give one liners in a film.

I think all women want to get out of our own little bubble and challenge a man's world. And I love challenges.

I started racing BMX when I was five years old. I followed in my brother's footsteps, and I was a little tomboy. When I came into the sport, there wasn't many women. I raced with the boys; I looked up to the boys, and all my mentors were boys.

Despite the gender stereotypes in the '80s, my race-car-driving dad taught me that I could do whatever my brother could.

We really broke down some doors for women and for musicians in general. It was just go out and form a band and don't care what anyone thinks.

The industry confines us in boxes, but we have to prove that we are women of substance.