Chantal Akerman Quotes

Naturally, my stories are about women - I'm a woman. I don't know what the term is for men who write mostly about men. I'm not always sure what is meant by 'feminist.' In the beginning, I used to say, 'Well, of course I'm a feminist.' But if it means that I follow a kind of feminist theory, or know anything about it, then I'm not.

I realize now that I was a feminist and the minute I heard the word I certainly knew it meant me, but at that time I don't think we had the label yet. But there's no doubt about it that I was born a feminist.

I am a humanist not a feminist. There's a big difference.

I call myself a feminist, not a feminist filmmaker. If somebody asked me if I had a feminist sensibility it would be pretty hard to deny, but is it the theme of my work? Not necessarily. I'm interested in a lot of things.

I didn't think of 'Thelma and Louise' as a feminist movie.

I do consider myself to be a feminist.

I'm very proud of being a woman, and as a woman, I don't even like the word 'feminism' because when I hear that word, I associate it with women trying to pretend to be men, and I'm not interested in trying to pretend to be a man. I don't want to embrace manhood; I want to embrace my womanhood.

I would like to think I am feminist in some sorts.

I think being a feminist is to each her own. It's kind of like asking someone what being a woman means to them. We should all be feminists. We should all want equality.

My feminism is just part of my being - a part of my understanding of the world.

Oh, am I a feminist? I usually say that I was an accidental feminist. Really, I was just being me.

I'm not a strong woman at all. And I'm not a feminist. In fact, I'm very weak.

Not to get too deep, but I was brought up by these women who if you wanted to label them, maybe they were feminists, but you know what? They never asked for that or wanted it and they never got up on a soapbox and spoke about it, they just did it. They did their work, they did their jobs, they were who they were.

I'm a feminist. I've been a female for a long time now. It'd be stupid not to be on my own side.

I had no words for these feelings. And then people started using the word Ms. Suddenly, there was this handle with which I could identify myself and understand why I felt so out of whack with the culture around me.

As a male writer, women are always what men pursue, and their world is always a mystery. So I always tried to present as many views as possible on women's worlds.

I am interested in writing how women really feel, how they really think, and how they respond to men. I don't want men reading my books because they might find out too much.

I thought it was very important that femininity wasn't lost.

I still consider myself a feminist.

I don't have a problem with being a woman. Women's bodies are so beautiful.

I consider myself a rampant feminist.

Away with that folly that her rights would be detrimental to her character - that if she were recognized as the equal to a man she would cease to be a woman!

You can't be a woman and not be a feminist, I don't think. If you care about the world and the world you exist in and your rights.

What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy, and smug they might be.

I'm never going to be the woman behind the man.