Ani DiFranco Quotes

I was called a feminist, and what I heard was, 'You are an angry, sex-hating, man-hating victim lady person.' This caricature is how feminists have been warped by the people who fear feminism most, the same people who have the most to lose when feminism succeeds.

I remember getting to college and all of a sudden realizing that feminism was a dirty word to a lot of people and it was baffling to me. I would tell people that I was a feminist and they would look at me and go, "Why?" And that just made me feel more at home in those shoes.

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.

I think people resist feminism because they're scared. I think for women, they're scared of being picked on or of being called out.

I feel bad that people think that "feminism" is a dirty word. I don't understand that at all, I'm proud to be labeled a feminist. I consider myself a person who has throughout my entire life stood up for myself. It's never been my ambition to be someone who takes a backseat to anything. I'm not a male basher at all. I divide people into assholes and non-assholes, and that's genderless. I encounter sexism everyday.

Women can really be who they are. I'm about to say the F word, feminist. Often that word has such a negative connotation.

Women's Lib? Poor little things. They always look so unhappy. Have you noticed how bitter their faces are?

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

There's been the same kind of demonizing of the word 'feminism' as words like 'liberal,' 'affirmative action,' and so on.

Some people ask, 'Why the word 'feminist'? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?' Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general - but to choose to use the vague expression 'human rights' is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender.

I'm an ardent feminist.

How did it come to be that you think men and women are the same? Well, there's a simple answer to the question: Feminism.

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

I've always felt that feminism was just an excuse for ugly women to march.

As all advocates of feminist politics know most people do not understand sexism or if they do they think it is not a problem. Masses of people think that feminism is always and only about women seeking to be equal to men. And a huge majority of these folks think feminism is anti-male. Their misunderstanding of feminist politics reflects the reality that most folks learn about feminism from patriarchal mass media.

I've always considered myself a feminist, which is such a tough word for people. Some people immediately assume that you're angry or you hate men, which is obviously not true.

What I often say to people who are quick to say I’m not a feminist is if you think you’re not a feminist, give it all back.

People feel removed from sexism. 'I'm not a sexist, but I'm not a feminist.' They think there's this fuzzy middle ground. There's no fuzzy middle ground. You either believe that women are people or you don't. It's that simple.

The way I view feminism — and I know there are a lot of different things going on — but, at its purest form, to me, it's a very positive, supportive, nurturing, empowerment thing. I mean, God, who isn't a feminist? If you don't think women are as good as men, you're not a good person. I like to think that most of the population of people worth being friends with are feminists, if that's what feminism means.

Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born. So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it's just basically another word for equality.

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?

The is a lot of anti-sexism coming from my point of view as a woman who deals with it every day. I think sexism is a form of discrimination. It is similar to other forms of discrimination. I think people should feel empowered to not take s**t from anyone.

People associate feminism with hate - with man hate - and that's really negative. I don't think that's what feminism is about at all - it's really positive. I think that's why women became reluctant to use the word.

I do think that more people are feminists than they realize.

There are some men who, in a spirit of arrogance, think they are superior to women. They do not seem to realize that they would not exist but for the mother who gave them birth. When they assert their superiority they demean her.