To all the women and men continuing the fight for feminism in 2017, get inspired by the words of the trailblazing women who've said it best. From Hillary Clinton to Maya Angelou, Gloria Steinem, Rihanna and all the unapologetic, courageous women in-between, these are the uplifting quotes to live by.
1) "To all the little girls who are watching, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams." —Hillary Clinton in her 2016 concession speech
2)"I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back." ―Malala Yousafzai
3)"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." —Margaret Thatcher
4) "I'm tough, I'm ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay." ―Madonna
5) "It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent." —Madeleine Albright
6) "Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in."―Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
7) "Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength." —G.D. Anderson
8) "Women are always saying,'We can do anything that men can do' but men should be saying,'We can do anything that women can do.'" —Gloria Steinem
9) "I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." —Maya Angelou
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10) "I am a Woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that's me." ―Maya Angelou
11) "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made... It shouldn't be that women are the exception." —Ruth Bader Ginsburg
12) "You don't have to be pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to your mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked 'female.'" —Erin McKean
13) "A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman." —Melinda Gates
14) "A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men." ―Gloria Steinem
15) "There's something so special about a woman who dominates in a man's world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer." —Rihanna in the March 2017 issue of Harper's BAZAAR.
Mariano Vivanco
16) "There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish." —Michelle Obama
17) "When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch."―Bette Davis
18) "I always wanted to be a femme fatale. Even when I was a young girl, I never really wanted to be a girl. I wanted to be a woman." —Diane von Furstenberg
19) "I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own." —Audre Lorde
20) "When there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit. So let's keep going — let's keep going until every one of the 161 million women and girls across America has the opportunity she deserves to have." —Hillary Clinton
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21) "Feminism is for everybody" ―bell hooks
22) "Women are leaders everywhere you look—from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women, and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes." —Nancy Pelosi
23) "The more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop." —Emma Watson
23) "Words have power. TV has power. My pen has power." —Shonda Rhimes
24) "We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women's voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored." —Sheryl Sandberg
25) "Whether I am meant to or not, I challenge assumptions about women. I do make some people uncomfortable, which I'm well aware of, but that's just part of coming to grips with what I believe is still one of the most important pieces of unfinished business in human history—empowering women to be able to stand up for themselves." —Hillary Clinton
26) "We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead."—Beyoncé
27)"A woman is like a tea bag—you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water." —Eleanor Roosevelt
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28) "I think the best role models for women are people who are fruitfully and confidently themselves, who bring light into the world." —Meryl Streep
29) "No woman should be told she can't make decisions about her own body. When women's rights are under attack, we fight back." —Kamala Harris
30) "Women will be hidden no more. We will not remain hidden figures. We have names...It was woman that gave you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was woman that gave you Malcolm X. And according to the Bible, it was a woman that gave you Jesus. Don't you ever forget it." —Janelle Monáe
31) "I am a woman with thoughts and questions and shit to say. I say if I'm beautiful. I say if I'm strong. You will not determine my story–I will." —Amy Schumer
32) "For I conclude that the enemy is not lipstick, but guilt itself; we deserve lipstick, if we want it, AND free speech; we deserve to be sexual AND serious – or whatever we please. We are entitled to wear cowboy boots to our own revolution. –Naomi Wolf
33) "Women are the real architects of society."—Harriet Beecher Stowe
34) "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."—Sheryl Sandberg
35) "Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all." —Hillary Clinton