“I would like to find a more precise way to not only tell the stories of female characters, but also do so in a female "way." My biggest advice would be to trust yourself.” WayCharacterStoriesWould BeAdviceFemalePreciseTrust YourselfFemale Characters Author:Danae Elon
“He was all emotion all the time, constantly talking about his feelings and his profound love for her. He was minutes from getting his first period. He wrote poems too. It's my personal belief that if men are writing poems, they're making up for something else like a big hair back, or one ball. Not that one ball is a bad thing. Especially since I don't know any females who are dying to their their hands on a set of balls. The way I see it, the less balls, the better.” IfsKnowsMenWayWritingFirstsFeelingsHumorHandsBigsFunnyBeliefEmotionTalkingMinutesDyingHairPeriodsFemaleBallsProfoundBad ThingsMaking UpLove For HerWriting PoemsPersonal BeliefsBig HairProfound Love Author:Chelsea Handler
“In regards to being female, I don't really think about it in the same way that other people do. I prefer to focus on my job rather than my gender. I'm still amazed that people think it's a big deal.” PeopleThinkingWayStillsBigsJobsDealsFocusFemaleRegardGenderAmazedBig Deal Author:Rhianna Pratchett
“I spent a lot of time with a real detective, a lady detective inspector who was the only female detective inspector in the whole of East London. She and I hung out a lot. She showed me what she did and I spent time with her. So, [she was] a lot of the inspiration for the way I dressed and sometimes the dialogue in those interview scenes where we're cross examining and questioning the youths and trying to get a confession out of them.” WayTryingRealSometimesWholeInspirationYouthSceneFemaleCrossesEastLondonDialogueInterviewsQuestioningConfessionHungDetectivesExaminingInspectorsEast London Author:Emily Mortimer
“Marriage is a big adjustment for anyone - male or female. There is no guarantee that a person who has become set in his or her ways can successfully make that transition.” WayPersonsBigsWomenFemaleMalesGuaranteesTransitionAdjustmentGuarantees That Author:Jeanne Phillips
“As a woman, you listen to more female singers, like guys listen to more rock bands. So in that way, they influence you because you're trying to create an identity; you look to others to model.” WayTryingLooksGuyInfluenceRocksIdentityBandModelsFemaleSingersRock BandsFemale Singers Author:Joan Cusack
“People ask, "What do you think about being called Puff Mommy?" Puff's a very successful young man, so I don't have a problem if that's what they wanna call me. If anybody calls me a female Quincy Jones, that's way, way complimentary. That's something I'll cherish for life.” PeopleIfsThinkingMenWayProblemYoungAsksSuccessfulFemaleYoung ManCall MeCherishPuff Author:Missy Elliot
“I've certainly seen stats that if you have a woman director or a woman screenwriter, the number of female characters goes way up.” IfsWayCharacterNumbersDirectorsFemaleScreenwritersFemale Characters Author:Emma Donoghue
“A male director doesn't come to situations the same way that a female director would.” WaySituationDirectorsFemaleMales Author:Liz W. Garcia
“My advice to female directors is not to wait until you feel like your ideas have been pre-certified or until you think you've gotten some approval for them. Then it's too late! Follow your gut. That's hard to do, but the only way to be original.” ThinkingWayFeelsHas BeensIdeasHardWaitingAdviceLike YouDirectorsLateFemaleOriginalsGutsToo LateApproval Author:Abigail Disney
“Girls were nice to me in the same way that they would be nice to a hamster. I fantasized about wild encounters with females but knew they'd never happen unless my own involvement could somehow go undetected.” WayHappensWould BeGirlMy OwnNiceFemaleEncountersBeing NiceInvolvementHamsters Author:Joel Achenbach
“I believe in sensuality. I believe in sex. I believe in the survival of the species. I like aspects of things that are ethereal, but I like the reality of nature and embracing the way nature works, and aspects of interrelationships between male-female, aspects of the body, the way the body has changed over thousands of years . . .” WayYearsBelieveBodyRealityI BelieveSexChangedSurvivalFemaleAspectSpeciesMalesI Believe InSensualityEtherealMale Female Author:Jeff Koons
“Along the way, female filmmakers will have the feeling that they're not good enough. And that's really just a result of being "otherized" from the moment they're born. Keep an eye out for all those insecurities, and even expect them. Borrow white male privilege and just move through the world as if it was created for you. You have to kind of talk yourself into an imaginary space where the world is on your side and expects you to speak and wants you to speak. You have to create that space for yourself over and over again. Every hour sometimes.” IfsWorldWayWantKindSometimesEnoughMomentsFeelingsEyeMovingSpeakSidesBornHoursSpaceWhiteResultsFemaleMalesPrivilegeFilmmakerInsecurityGood EnoughImaginaryYour SideNot Good EnoughMale Privilege Author:Jill Soloway
“It's to a writer's advantage to contain within himself elements of each sex, or any sex. It's to his advantage because it makes him able to write from the female point of view as well as the male. In some cases, of course, you will find some homosexual writers who can only write from a f - - -'s point of view. But I don't regard myself as a f - - -! Some people may. Also audiences wanted escapism. They don't like too much protest or criticism of their way of life.” PeopleWayWritingWellsMayAbleWantedCoursesSexViewsCasesAudienceToo MuchElementsAdvantageFemaleCriticismRegardMalesPoint Of ViewProtestHomosexualEscapism Author:Tennessee Williams
“There was a point in my teenage years, when we were starting to play bigger shows and females were running after tour buses and all that, and my mom - and I remember this like it was yesterday - said: 'Look, I want you to know that I couldn't be prouder of you. You are extraordinary. You move people. But it doesn't make you better than them. You still put your pants on the same way as them, one leg at a time every morning.' I thought about learning to jump right into them, just to mess with her. But what she said stuck with me, and I think it's true.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWayWantYearsLooksSaidStillsPlayShowsRunningRememberMovingMorningMomFemaleBiggerExtraordinaryStartingLegsMy MomYesterdayStuckMessBusPantsEvery MorningI Want YouTeenageTeenage Years Author:Justin Timberlake
“I'm drawn to female characters, not all of them are strong characters. I think I'm drawn to female characters partly because they don't have as easy or as obvious a relationship to power in society, and so they suffer under social constraints or have to maneuver within them in ways men sometimes don't, or are unconscious about, or have certain liberties that are invisible to them.” ThinkingMenWaySometimesCharacterCertainSufferingStrongSocialEasyLibertyFemaleObviousInvisibleUnconsciousConstraintsFemale CharactersStrong Character Author:Todd Haynes
“Masturbation is not physically necessary. There is already a way by which the male system relieves excessive spermatic fluid quite regularly through the nocturnal emission or wet dream. Monthly menstrual flow expels the female's egg and cleanses the womb. For both sexes, physical or emotional tensions can be released by vigorous activity. Thus, in a biological sense, masturbation for either gender is not necessary. In a gospel sense, it is a sin: Masturbation, a rather common indiscretion, is not approved of the Lord...regardless of what may have been said by others whose 'norms' are lower.” WayMayHas BeensSaidDreamSexSinCommonLordEmotionalActivityFemaleFlowMalesGenderTensionEggsWetNormWombFluidVigorousEmissionsApprovedMasturbationNocturnalWet Dreams Author:Spencer W. Kimball
“Sometime female characters, especially in the genre of something that people consider rom-com, make mistakes in a cute way or they're a mess in a way that's palatable. I like that.” PeopleWayCharacterMistakeFemaleMessGenreCuteMaking MistakesFemale Characters Author:Greta Gerwig
“I just wanted to honor who Emily was. She's just a strong woman. Through my journey of playing her, I found a lot of strength, and I think that I've changed, as a female, in the way that I carry myself. To go through something traumatic, like getting your face scarred, it made me analyze vanity a lot. When you have a little pimple and you're like, "Oh, my god, there's an alien on my face!," you feel like it's magnified.” ThinkingWayFeelsLittlesMadeWantedFacesFoundStrongJourneyChangedHonorFemaleAliensVanityYour FaceStrong WomenEmilyMy JourneyPimplesI've Changed Author:Tinsel Korey
“Statistically in the UK, there are so many fewer female composers than male songwriters and they're marketed in a way that - females are marketed in a way that they're these independent unique artists writing their own stuff, and they're not, because fourteen percent of PRS goes to women.” WayWritingArtistStuffUniquePercentFemaleIndependentMalesComposerFewerSongwritersFourteen Author:Kate Nash
“Being a bigger person, whether you're male or female, in entertainment, it can hurt your chances. Because people look to you to be a so-called superstar. Perfect body, perfect figure, good looking, and smart. And larger people, we have to fit in anywhere we can and the best way we can, so to speak. The way the world looks at you at being perfect, and nobody's perfect.” PeopleWorldWayLooksPersonsBodySpeakHurtChancePerfectFiguresFitSmartFemaleBiggerMalesEntertainmentBest WayLooking GoodSuperstarNobody's PerfectBigger Person Author:Bruce Bruce
“It's a very independent male creature that lives alone, and a lot of independent females who live alone. It's all very sad but it's much easier for both sexes to do it this way nowadays.” WaySexEasierCreaturesFemaleIndependentMalesVery Sad Author:Bette Davis
“To me, feminism in literature deals with the female characters being in some way central to the thematic concerns of the book, or that they are agents of change to some degree. In other words, the lens is focused deeply and intensely on the female characters and doesn't waver, which allows for a glimpse into the rich inner lives of the characters.” WayBookCharacterLiteratureDealsRichFeminismDegreesConcernFemaleFocusedAgentsGlimpseLensesInner LifeFemale CharactersThematic Author:Laurie Foos
“You cannot call a poem female just because it is written by a woman. Nevertheless, I think attempts to find femininity in female bodies, life, and thinking, attempts to find a way for women to speak, will improve widely in Korea.” ThinkingWayBodySpeakWrittenFemaleNeverthelessFemininityKoreaFemale Body Author:Kim Hyesoon
“What do you want in a female companion? What is the first thing that attracts you. Her ability to cook and keep house or is it the way she looks? It's not politically correct, GM hates it when I draw that analogy. But it's absolutely correct."” WayWantFirstsLooksHateHouseAbilityDrawsFemaleCooksCompanionAnalogiesPolitically Correct Author:Bob Lutz
“A primatologist told me you can find love in the eyes of an orangutan. It's that old primate gleam that goes back thousands of years and can penetrate the deepest gloom of the jungle. Nothing can deter that gleam, which is why we primates have survived for so long to meet and procreate. In prison, the survival of romance is not easy, but it finds a way ... In Canada, there has been a succession of romances between prisoners and female guards, nurses, librarians, and one Catholic nun who married the convict after he divorced his wife.” WayYearsLongHas BeensEyeRomanceEasyWifeMarriedSurvivalFemaleCatholicPrisonCanadaPrisonerNurseSurvivedJungleDivorcedPenetrateLibrarianFinding LoveSuccessionGloomNunGleamPrimatesConvictsOrangutans Author:Shawn Thompson
“Scientists have found a way to keep middle-aged female mice from going through menopause. Now they're working on a way to keep middle-aged male mice from buying expensive sports cars.” WayFoundSportsMiddleCarFemaleScientistMalesExpensiveBuyingMiceMiddle AgedMenopauseSports Cars Author:Conan O'Brien
“There's no way you can use water to collect waste in zero gravity. So, basically, our toilet on shuttle operations is a vacuum cleaner. The urinal looks like a Shop-Vac hose. It has different-shaped fronts on it for males and females to use. The urine is sucked down that hose and goes into a tank.” WayLooksDifferentUseWaterFrontsWasteFemaleMalesOperationsShopsZeroGravityToiletsTanksVacuumsCleanersZero Gravity Author:Mike Mullane
“When a female character sets herself on fire in an effort to interrupt her culture's violent abuse of disenfranchised people, or physically tortures and punishes her guardian rapist, or picks up a gun and fights back in ways that make her not pretty, or aggressively rejects her role as the object of desire, or even when she waddles off into the woods to squat and have a baby without the safety and expertise of hospitals and doctors, these are the kinds of violences and stories we can learn from.” PeopleWayKindCharacterStoriesDesireCultureFightingEffortRolesFireViolenceObjectsBabyPicksGunFemaleDoctorsAbuseSafetyWoodsViolentTortureRejectsHospitalsGuardianExpertiseFemale CharactersSquatNot PrettyDisenfranchisedObjects Of Desire Author:Lidia Yuknavitch
“I want men and women to both feel a part in the flourishment of female power. So I want to celebrate that power that women have, that they acquired and are still acquiring all over the world. And it's kind of my way of joining the movement and bringing positive attention to an overgrowing awareness of females everywhere who are breaking the mold.” MenWorldWayWantFeelsKindStillsAttentionAwarenessMovementMen And WomenFemaleCelebrateMy WayWant MeMoldJoiningFemale Power Author:Zella Day
“I think that more so, my wonderful skill of dissociation came in very handy. I care very much what other people think. I'm a total pleaser. I want everyone to like me all the time. I feel like people who don't feel that way on some level are lying, but particularly female memoirists. We want to be seen and we want to be forgiven. So that occurred to me very early on.” PeopleThinkingWayWantFeelsCareLyingLevelsWonderfulSkillsFemaleLike MeI CareForgivenDissociationHandyPleasers Author:Melissa Febos
“Whether consciously or unconsciously, I felt myself drawn to writing a female character who was pretty flawed and not very virtuous or wonderful or attractive in these ways that throughout literary history we've come to expect female characters to be.” WayWritingCharacterFeltWonderfulFemaleAttractiveVirtuousFlawedFemale Characters Author:Leni Zumas
“As a male, I thought the female voice was so strong, unique, real and accessible to most females. In some way, shape or form, they felt like they could relate to it, on some level, because they went through some form of unspeakable horror like what Kilgrave did to Jessica [Jones]. That, in itself, is something that most people shy away from, even in shows that are on cable or in movies.” PeopleWayRealShowsFormStrongFeltVoiceLevelsHorrorShapesUniqueFemaleMalesRelateShyCablesUnspeakableJessicaJessica JonesFemale Voice Author:Mike Colter
“A lot of girls will do regular crunches, when that is building muscle in the middle of your stomach on top of - right in the middle area, where you might not want it to be. There's certain types of sit-ups and crunches and moves that kind of build the core set of your muscles inside. There's a different way of looking at exercise and optimizing it for the female body, if that makes sense.” IfsWayWantKindDifferentBodyMightMovingCertainGirlMiddleBuildingTypeExerciseAreasFemaleCoreMake SenseDifferent WaysMusclesStomachFemale BodyCrunch Author:April Rose
“For a long time, way back in the ’30s and ’40s, there were fabulous female roles. Bette Davis and all those people had incredible, great roles. After World War II, something happened where it was not only "get out of the factories," but "get out of the movies." That's when women's roles started to really [change].” PeopleWorldWayLongWarRolesHappenedLong TimeFemaleIncrediblesWar Of The WorldsWorld War IiFactoriesWorld War IFabulousFemale RolesWomen's Roles Author:Geena Davis
“I think there's something inherently different about working with females. I mean, it's just a different way of looking at life, being a woman. But I think we can handle many things at one time and I don't think that's necessarily true for men.” ThinkingMenWayMeanDifferentFemaleHandleDifferent WaysOne TimeBeing A Woman Author:Melanie Griffith
“Ultimately, I felt fortunate, because in many ways I did identify with aspects of being gay that were very stereotypical. I was a big theatre kid in high school, I was creative, I was very emotionally sensitive, even hypersensitive. I loved female divas.” WayBigsKidsSchoolFeltCreativeGayHigh SchoolFemaleAspectTheatreFortunateSensitiveBeing Gay Author:Christopher Rice
“I think an awful lot of the reasons people put forward for not liking Hillary Clinton play into deep-seated, negative female stereotypes: ambition, secrecy, calculating. I mean, that is Lady Macbeth, a kind of cold woman. I don't think that's Hillary. And I don't think people would judge a man in the same way.” PeopleThinkingMenWayKindMeanReasonPlayJudgingColdAmbitionNegativeFemaleClintonAwfulStereotypeSecrecyOld WomanCalculatingLady Macbeth Author:Anne-Marie Slaughter
“I have a female colleague who gets annoyed that Tina Fey seems to go out of her way in her movies to deride her looks, as if she weren't such an attractive woman.” IfsWayLooksSeemsFemaleAttractiveColleaguesAnnoyedFeyAttractive Woman Author:David Edelstein
“I'm a really restless person; I'm tired of the way I sounded or looked yesterday. So it's hard to hang onto this image of me as this young Swedish female in this world.” WorldWayPersonsHardYoungThis WorldFemaleTiredYesterdayRestlessI'm TiredSwedish Author:Lykke Li
“When men write women, they tend to write women the way they want women to be, or the way they resent women for being. They don't really - they seldom nail it. It takes a woman to write a really good female character. I like that.” MenWayWantWritingCharacterFemaleNailsResentFemale Characters Author:Simon Pegg
“I can't stand [female] characters that are not empowered in a certain way, or at least don't come to a conclusion at the end of the movie where they find empowerment in themselves.” WayI CanEndsCharacterCertainFemaleEmpowermentConclusionEmpoweredFemale Characters Author:Chloe Grace Moretz
“I don't think that there's a guy behind the desk at every newspaper saying "No, woman" and sending her on her way, but that's what's systemic about it, right, like that people don't quite realize that maybe they're attracted to a male op-ed more than a female op-ed, or because of networking they know this person from going out to a bar with them.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWayPersonsGuyRealizingBehindsFemaleMalesNewspapersBarsGoing OutDesksNetworkingSaying No Author:Jessica Valenti
“I think Gypsy [Rose Lee] would be appalled at today's rawer, more blatant displays of the female form. She was, in her own way, a prude.” ThinkingWayWould BeTodayFormFemaleRoseDisplayGypsyPrudesFemale Form Author:Karen Abbott
“I've watched so many women, from Kathleen Hanna all the way up to Taylor Swift, whether they're pop artists or rock stars or fine artists or writers, it is the subhistory of female artists that if you're going to make art, you're also going to have a full-time job of defending your right to make art.” IfsWayArtJobsArtistStarsRocksFineFemalePopsRock StarFine ArtsPop ArtFull Time JobsFine ArtistsFemale Artists Author:Amanda Palmer
“I have struggled to be taken seriously as a female athlete. I have struggled to find my worth outside of winning. I have struggled to accept parts of myself. Now I'm recognizing the beauty in those parts as well as beauty in the times when things didn't go my way.” WayWellsWinningAcceptingTakenFemaleAthleteMy WayRecognizingFemale Athlete Author:Lynsey Dyer
“I never realized that as a woman I would be looked at as less than until I was pretty deep in this business and realized, 'Oh my God. I'm being treated this way because I'm female.” WayWould BeFemaleTreated Author:Sandra Bullock
“It's funny when I look at my life; my primary school was two-thirds male to one-third female. So I started my life that way. I have two brothers. And when I did Harry Potter, the ratio was more often than not, at the very least, one-third female, two-thirds male.” WayLooksTwoSchoolBrotherFemaleThirdsMalesPrimariesHarry PotterPottersRatiosTwo BrothersPrimary School Author:Emma Watson
“For me, I guess, just learning that just because there's not a whole lot of female MCs on the front lines being supported by major record labels doesn't mean they don't exist. It doesn't mean they don't have the drive and the competitive nature and the will and the way.” WayMeanWholeLinesRecordsFrontsMajorsFemaleLabelsRecord Labels Author:MC Lyte
“I love Osho. I don't know if you would call him a philosopher; I would just call him a really cool dude. Osho really changed my life. Because the way that he spoke about emotion and the male and female energies in the world and how people react to the world around them, it's so simple, yet it has such a depth.” PeopleIfsKnowsWorldWayEnergySimpleEmotionChangedFemaleDepthMalesPhilosopherSpokesReally CoolChanged My Life Author:Willow Smith