Dorothy Allison Quotes

My mother was a feminist, and she gave me some tools of self-possession and self-empowerment, but now that I have lived here for forty-three years, it's, like, whoa, there is just so much more to do, other than become myself. I'm still talking about it. I still drop the P-word, "patriarchy," on unsuspecting people in everyday conversations.

The women's movement appeared at a very crucial moment in my life. There was a whole political movement asking such questions and others I had never asked. I began to feel heard in that movement. But it was because my voice was resonating with other voices.

During the era when women were burning their bras - which, by the way, they never actually did - but when women were first becoming liberated, I was 23. And I met a woman who asked, 'Don't you feel bad because you're sort of acting like the stupid airhead blonde?' And I totally surprised myself. I said, 'Liberation can also come from the inside.'

I really just want to change the way women think about themselves.

One of the best things that ever happened to me is that I'm a woman. That is the way all females should feel.

Women have demanded and gotten better jobs and more power. But the one thing we deserve is a better relationship with ourselves.

The fact that I ended up married to a decent man is still a source of amazement to me, thanks to 'The Women's Room.'

I've never asked for special treatment along the way. And I'm never going to hide the fact that I'm a girl, ever. That's obvious, isn't it?

I suppose it's the feminist in me, but I didn't always associate modelling with an intelligent career. I used to put myself down for doing it.

And I think every woman can be a diva, and every woman can be just a woman. I think life is a runway, and you can do everything you want. If you want.

What women really want is opportunity and the freedom to love and accept all aspects of womanhood - the intellectual, spiritual, professional, biological and relational dimensions of who we are.

Being a woman means everything to me.

It's very important for females to feel empowered. It took me a long time to find that inside me.

I would say there have been different stages of my feminist awakening. The more layers you peel back and the more things you're made aware of, you're like, "Oh my God."

A girl has the power to go forward in her life. And she's not only a mother, she's not only a sister, she's not only a wife. But a girl has the - she should have an identity. She should be recognized and she has equal rights as a boy.

To transform the world women need to strive for authenticity.

We as women need to empower each other.

There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.

What shall we do, all of us? All of us oassionate girls who fear crushing the boys we love with our mouths like caverns of teeth, our mushrooming brains, our watermelon hearts?

I hope that in its richness, as well as in its incompleteness, Gyn/Ecology will continue to be a Labrys enabling women to learn from our mistakes and our successes, and cast our Lives as far as we can go, Now, in the Be-Dazzling Nineties.

Since a very young age, my mother made sure to tell me about the plight of women... As she raised my awareness about women's issues, she also made sure to ingrain in me the importance of being strong and independent and not to let anybody define me by their images of what women should be.

Be the Woman You Want to Be.

Honestly, I do believe in the power of women supporting each other.

I don't necessarily think of myself as a feminist, but I'm a whole person. I'm not just breasts or ass or thighs - I'm a whole being! And it just seems like women aren't necessarily striving to be the whole of themselves.

I wrote myself back together. I wrote myself toward a stronger version of myself . . . Through writing and feminism, I also found that if I was a little bit brave, another woman might hear me and see me and recognize that none of us are the nothing the world tries to tell us we are.