Unless you failed to check any form of social media last Thursday, you are well aware it was International Women’s Day. Pictures of mothers and daughters, of sisters and best friends, of legendary women, and of colorful quotes took over my feed. What initially seemed an overtaking by a pesty weed, bloomed into a million little flowers, populating my Instagram feed. Small blips of empowerment not only for women but for all mankind. Portraits of beautiful, inspiring women. Declarations of love for all of womanhood. Sons commending their mothers for a job well done. Girl on girl love. Human on human love.
Thus, I threw on my UNITE by GRLFRND denim jacket, adorned with an ♀ embroidered in red and pink flowers and went about my day collecting my favorite quotes from the many beautiful, talented, inspiring women I follow on Instagram. So, here’s to all of the strong women I know! I am lucky to know them, I strive to be one, and I hope one day to raise them:
1. Shailja Patel via @zoeborden
“Read women.
Cite women.
Credit women.
Teach women.
Publish women.
Present women.
Acknowledge women.
Award women.
Amplify women.
Hire women.
Support women.
Promote women.
Hear women.
Believe women.
Follow women.
Pay women.
Pay women.
Pay women.”
2. Via everyone
“Here’s to strong women! May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”
3. Also via everyone
“Empowered women empower women.”
4. Rupi Kaur via @yungmtngoat
“our work should equip the next generation of women to outdo us in every field this is the legacy we’ll leave behind”
5. William Golding vis @cellitaaa
“I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men. They are far superior and always have been. Whatever you give a woman she will make greater.”
6. Emma Watson via @leseydel
“If you stand for equality, you’re a feminist. Sorry to tell you.”
7. Cher via @bellahadid
“Mother told me a couple years ago ‘Sweetheart, settle down and marry a rich man.’ I said, ‘Mom, I am a rich man.”
8. Eleanor Roosevelt via @annalis.masters
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
9. Via @alliyahhill
“Women and the earth have a lot to tolerate.”
10. Via @thelivlake
“Girls, be poetic & dirty.”
11. Via @ashleyswagner
“She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”
12. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg via @caicramer
"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made…it shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
13. Maya Angelou via @sylviacarlroberts
“I’d love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by its lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”
14. Via @electraroll
“Never apologize for being a powerful fucking woman.”
15. Oprah via @mantraband
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”
16. Via @rileypriegel
“There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.”
17. Via everyone
“i want to apologize to all the women i have called beautiful
before i’ve called them intelligent or brave
i am sorry i made it sound as though
something as simple as what you’re born with
is all you have to be proud of
when you have broken mountains with your wit
from now on i will say things like
you are resilient, or you are extraordinary
not because i don’t think you’re beautiful
but because i need you to know
you are more than that”
18. Coco Chanel via @wildfoxcouture
“Dress shabbily and they remember the dress. Dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”
19. Rupi Kaur via @mehrsingh96
"whats the greatest lesson a woman should learn?
that since day one. she’s already had everything she needs within herself. It’s the world that convinced her she did not.”
20. Via @misshannahb
“I am your worst fear. I am your best fantasy.”
21. Maya Angelou via @motherdenim
“A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.”
22. Zoey Deschanel via @emmystrongwater
“Being tender and open is beautiful. As a woman I feel continually shhh’ed. Too sensitive. Too mushy. Too wishy washy. Blah blah.
Don’t let someone steal your tenderness. Don’t allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly vulnerable beating heart.
Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to be truly affected by things.”
23. Via @laurenlengyel
“Good things happen to babes who hustle.”
24. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt via @maggiee_miller
“Females are strong as hell.”
25. Via @cheyennewalk
“Be a slut. Do whatever you want.”
26. Michelle Obama via @reformation
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”
27. Hillary Clinton via @ditacordelia
“I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided ro do was to fulfill my profession.”
I dedicate this article to every woman who has impacted my life.
Those who have nurtured me.
Those who have hurt me.
Those who have grown with me.
Those who have taught me.
Those who have praised me.
Those who have scorned me.
Those who have loved me.
Those who have changed me.
Those who have inspired me.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
