Betty Friedan Quotes

Feminism is really the right of women to be full human beings and to not be defined only by their childbearing function. Feminism is really the right of women to be human beings. That's it, yet that's so frightening to a lot of people. A full human being wants satisfying work and love. A full human being is entitled to both, and is not simply defined by only one aspect of her being.

I demanded more rights for women because I know what women had to put up with.

I owe nothing to Women's Lib.

The feminists who are aware of the effects of patriarchy realize that we are all in the same boat from the dangers of patriarchy, and that the oppression of women is universal.

In Sweden, there's a lot of talk of gender equality. That discussion isn't as prevalent in the U.S. I feel that successful American women are tougher than Swedish women - they create their space.

I don't know why it's still a taboo to be a feminist.

Women's issues have always been a part of my life.

American women don't need to be lectured about values by men in Washington.

We need to fight for women's rights, but I don't want to separate women from men. We're separated already because we're not made the same, and it's the difference that creates this energy in creation and love.

Women are inferior to none.

I don't talk about things like women power and this and that. Because I believe fighting for it is saying we are weaker. I don't believe in that concept. For me, there is no fighting for women.

I’m a bit of a feminist and I carry a machete! I try to be a strong female. I think it’s important. My mum is my idol in life. She’s a very strong woman. I think it’s important for women to be strong and intelligent and hold their own.

My mom brought me up to be a feminist. She would always point out to my brother and me that our culture does often portray women like objects...

There's nothing bad about feminism. We have to help each other, because there's a lot of women in the world who are suffering because the fact is we're not equal. It's as plain as that. It's still a men's world. I don't know. We'll go on with it.

Young girls getting into feminism.

If you have a slave around the house how can you expect to make a revolution outside it? The problem for women is that if we try to be free, then we naturally become lonely, because so many women are willing to become slaves, and men usually prefer that.

Feminism is to sexism what black nationalism is to racism; the most rational response to the problem.

I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women... This social revolution of feminism in the '70s really achieved so many of its goals-not every single one of them, obviously-but I think we should say it's great that these young women don't feel like they need to be feminists.

It is not a dirty word, "feminism." I just think that women belong in the human population with the same rights as everybody else... The problem is, "A feminist looks like this, or is like that." We are taught not to like ourselves as women, we are taught what we're supposed to look like, what our measurements are supposed to be. I never hear what measurements men are supposed to be. Just women.

One of the most disturbing things I heard was that women's issues weren't "hot." Which is so ironic, because women are constantly being judged on some "hot" level. The conversation is not hot enough for them to do anything about. We have to make it hot, make them feel the fire. Until then, a lot of them aren't going to do anything.

the point of feminism ... is to win women a wider range of experience. Feminism remains a pretty simple concept, despite repeated - and enormously effective - efforts to dress it up in greasepaint and turn its proponents into gargoyles.

Since the beginning of time, women have had to fight for what they deserve. I'm proud to be a part of a wave of strong women on TV!

Feminism was not a rulebook but a discussion, a conversation, a process...

Somebody has said that woman's place is in the wrong. That's fine. What the wrong needs is a woman's presence and a woman's touch. She is far better equipped than men to set it right.

As women began to challenge their own internalized views of a woman's proper place, their desire and demand for equal status and free choice began to grow exponentially.