Jessica Valenti

Something I say a lot when it comes to anti-feminist stereotypes is that they exist for a reason.

— Jessica Valenti

If you go to places like YouTube, it's a cesspool, and a lot of the comments are really horrifying and misogynist and…

— Jessica Valenti

It's time to teach our daughters that their ability to be good people depends on their being good people, not on whether…

— Jessica Valenti

Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.

— Jessica Valenti

As a kid, I wasn't sure that I would ever get married - I was not the kind of little girl who…

— Jessica Valenti

You're not too fat. You're not too loud. You're not too smart. You're not unladylike. There is nothing wrong with you.

— Jessica Valenti

The biggest thinker that's influenced my feminism is definitely Bell Hooks, who's a feminist cultural critic, because of her accessibility but also…

— Jessica Valenti

One of the difficult things, especially about blogging, is that you put all of your personal out there, into the political. And…

— Jessica Valenti

The widely held belief that the heterosexual nuclear family is best for children has long been used as a smoke screen for…

— Jessica Valenti

I don't find the wave model very productive, because I think it kind of serves to fan the flames of generational tension,…

— Jessica Valenti

Whether it's repro rights, violence against women, or just plain old vanilla sexism, most issues affecting women have one thing in common…

— Jessica Valenti

I grew up in Long Island City. When I was growing up, my parents owned a women's clothing store in Queens. It…

— Jessica Valenti

Bra-burning never happened. It was completely made up by the media. A couple of women protesting a Miss America pageant threw some…

— Jessica Valenti

I think talking is as casual as blogging, and sometimes writing can be as casual as talking. My informal writing style is…

— Jessica Valenti

I saw an article where the manager of the Pussycat Dolls, which is kind of this like striptease band, girl band, said,…

— Jessica Valenti

I think the biggest hurdle American feminists have in terms of taking a more global approach is that too often when you…

— Jessica Valenti

“If you spend any amount of time doing media analysis, it’s clear that the most frenzied moral panic surrounding young women’s sexuality…

— Jessica Valenti

In 1986, Gloria Steinem wrote that if men got periods, they 'would brag about how long and how much': that boys would…

— Jessica Valenti

“Perhaps it’s true that in our sex-saturated culture it does take a certain amount of self-discipline to resist having sex, but restraint…

— Jessica Valenti

The implications of likability are long-lasting and serious. Women adjust their behavior to be likable and as a result have less power…

— Jessica Valenti

Something you hear a lot is that feminism dead. But if feminism is dead, why do people try so hard to kill…

— Jessica Valenti

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

— Jessica Valenti

Feminism isn't simply about being a woman in a position of power. It's battling systemic inequities; it's a social justice movement that…

— Jessica Valenti

There's going to be biological differences between the genders. There's going to be biological differences between two women or two men. There's…

— Jessica Valenti

A huge part of keeping women in their place has to do with creating a really limited definition of what a 'real'…

— Jessica Valenti

There have been women who stumbled across Feministing randomly, through a bizarre Google search or something, and had no idea what feminism…

— Jessica Valenti

I think motherhood has made issues all feel much more urgent than they did before. So it didn't necessarily change how I…

— Jessica Valenti

Yes, the more successful you are—or the stronger, the more opinionated—the less you will be generally liked. All of a sudden people…

— Jessica Valenti

Wanting to be liked means being a supporting character in your own life, using the cues of the actors around you to…

— Jessica Valenti

I've seen straight, partnered women explain their decision to stay at home by noting that childcare would have taken too much out…

— Jessica Valenti

It's not always easy being a full-time feminist - especially as a young woman - when you're constantly being told that what…

— Jessica Valenti

In 'The Purity Myth,' I not only discuss what the purity myth is and reveal its consequences for women, but also outline…

— Jessica Valenti

I think day care is terrific. Kids get to be around other kids, and they're playing, and they're teaching each other. When…

— Jessica Valenti

“It seems the word ‘slut’ can be applied to any activity that doesn’t include knitting, praying, or sitting perfectly still lest any…

— Jessica Valenti

Dismissing socialization and gender roles as piddling compared to this amorphous idea of 'maternal imperative' is part of the reason progress is…

— Jessica Valenti

People aren't comfortable thinking of women as people. Like we're not people, we're women, and that means something completely different, especially when…

— Jessica Valenti

When you ask most American parents why they want to have kids, it's to bring more joy into their lives. So, when…

— Jessica Valenti

claims about what's 'natural' have long been used to reinforce traditional gender roles and values. ... Even the notion that women should…

— Jessica Valenti

“Yes, we love the good men in our lives and sometimes, oftentimes, the bad ones too- but that we're not in full…

— Jessica Valenti

“That public spaces are not really public for you, but a series of surprise private moments that you can’t prevent or erase.…

— Jessica Valenti