--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't be creative and still be a good…" description: "\"You can't be creative and still be a good girl.\" — Erica Jong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/erica-jong-445_be-creative_you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-goo_754205.jpg" --- # You can't be creative and still be a good girl. ![“You can't be creative and still be a good girl.” quote by Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/erica-jong-445_be-creative_you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-goo_754205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/erica-jong-445_be-creative_you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-goo_754205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/erica-jong-445_be-creative_you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-goo_754205.jpg) > “You can't be creative and still be a good girl.” [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing personal authenticity with societal expectations can feel contradictory, especially for women pressured to conform. **In simple terms:** Creative freedom can clash with gender norms. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity over imposed roles. Themes gender creativity identity conformity Mood conflicted determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - artistic projects - personal relationships - social activism Key Concepts feminism self‑expression social pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “good girl” for yourself? - What compromises are you willing to make? A Different Perspective Societal expectations may limit opportunities for creative expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) ## Related quotes > [I am pretty sick with myself! It seemed a pretty good idea at the time. Around the time I turned 30, I started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-gosling/i-am-pretty-sick-with-myself-it-seemed-a-pretty-good-idea-at-the-time/) [Ryan Gosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-gosling/) > [Be creative, have a good time, and be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-beecham/be-creative-have-a-good-time-and-be-yourself/) [Emily Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-beecham/) > [I don't care what I do - act, stand-up, write, direct - it doesn't matter as long as I'm being creative and it's good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-garlin/i-don-t-care-what-i-do-act-stand-up-write-direct-it-doesn-t-matter-as/) [Jeff Garlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-garlin/) > [“Being creative is good for the mind... I write because I don't want to take Prozac!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flossy-abraham/being-creative-is-good-for-the-mind-i-write-because-i-don-t-want-to/) Flossy Abraham > [If we listen to the better angels of our nature, there are creative and good solutions to serious problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/if-we-listen-to-the-better-angels-of-our-nature-there-are-creative/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [Even if the dramatic scenes are really hard, if you're happy with what you have and it's been creative and you had a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-zurer/even-if-the-dramatic-scenes-are-really-hard-if-you-re-happy-with-what/) [Ayelet Zurer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-zurer/) > [If you're clever enough and creative enough to get a good film made, then you should be clever enough and creative enough to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-brunetti/if-you-re-clever-enough-and-creative-enough-to-get-a-good-film-made/) [Dana Brunetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-brunetti/) > [I do like to be creative and I'm very lucky that I've been given different areas in which I'm able to do that -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-o-brien/i-do-like-to-be-creative-and-i-m-very-lucky-that-i-ve-been-given/) [Richard O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-o-brien/) > [Held in the palms of thousands of disgruntled people over the centuries have been ideas worth millions - if they only had taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hayes/held-in-the-palms-of-thousands-of-disgruntled-people-over-the/) Robert M. Hayes > [Women need a space to be creative -- creativity thrives in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sark/women-need-a-space-to-be-creative-creativity-thrives-in-solitude/) [Sark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sark/) > ['Born This Way' is shaping up to be creative ecstasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurieann-gibson/born-this-way-is-shaping-up-to-be-creative-ecstasy/) [Laurieann Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurieann-gibson/) > [Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings… Select something like music, dance, sculpture, or poetry. Being creative will help you enjoy life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/attempt-to-be-creative-for-the-joy-it-brings-select-something-like/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/to-be-creative-means-to-connect-it-s-to-abolish-the-gap-between-the/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [To lose your everyday life of surfing and being creative on waves, enjoying the ocean - that's scary to me. It was essential to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-hamilton/to-lose-your-everyday-life-of-surfing-and-being-creative-on-waves/) [Bethany Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-hamilton/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## More by Erica Jong > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Will you ever? I dont think you will ever fully understand how you've touched my life and made me who I am.I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/will-you-ever-i-dont-think-you-will-ever-fully-understand-how-you-ve/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Give advice to your children while they're young enough to believe you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/give-advice-to-your-children-while-they-re-young-enough-to-believe/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Perhaps all artists were, in a sense, housewives: tenders of the earth household.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/perhaps-all-artists-were-in-a-sense-housewives-tenders-of-the-earth/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-have-lived-my-life-according-to-this-principle-if-i-m-afraid-of-it/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. I think I'll move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-thought-to-spend-my-declining-years-writing-poetry-and-teaching-but/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Naomi Wolf dares to explode the myth of 'victim feminism' and pleads for allowing women to be as full of good and bad desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/naomi-wolf-dares-to-explode-the-myth-of-victim-feminism-and-pleads/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I knew I was in England by the smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-knew-i-was-in-england-by-the-smell/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The Lives of Great Men are more oft' at variance with their profess'd Phillosophies than consistent with 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-lives-of-great-men-are-more-oft-at-variance-with-their-profess-d/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Women's books are kind of discriminated against. If a man writes a book about his family stories, people think of it as literature. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/women-s-books-are-kind-of-discriminated-against-if-a-man-writes-a/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Many, many people have done a lot more sexual experimentation than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/many-many-people-have-done-a-lot-more-sexual-experimentation-than-i/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Is life much too long for an immortal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/is-life-much-too-long-for-an-immortal/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Don't ye know that ev'ry Soul on Earth feels itself to be an Orphan?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/don-t-ye-know-that-ev-ry-soul-on-earth-feels-itself-to-be-an-orphan/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Critics write out of intellectual exercise, not poets. Poets write straight from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/critics-write-out-of-intellectual-exercise-not-poets-poets-write/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Once I worshipped Keats for dying young. Now I think it's braver to die old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/once-i-worshipped-keats-for-dying-young-now-i-think-it-s-braver-to/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) [Explore all 542 Erica Jong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## More Be creative quotes > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/to-be-creative-means-to-connect-it-s-to-abolish-the-gap-between-the/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings… Select something like music, dance, sculpture, or poetry. Being creative will help you enjoy life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/attempt-to-be-creative-for-the-joy-it-brings-select-something-like/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > ['Born This Way' is shaping up to be creative ecstasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurieann-gibson/born-this-way-is-shaping-up-to-be-creative-ecstasy/) [Laurieann Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurieann-gibson/) > [Women need a space to be creative -- creativity thrives in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sark/women-need-a-space-to-be-creative-creativity-thrives-in-solitude/) [Sark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sark/) > [Held in the palms of thousands of disgruntled people over the centuries have been ideas worth millions - if they only had taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hayes/held-in-the-palms-of-thousands-of-disgruntled-people-over-the/) Robert M. Hayes > [To lose your everyday life of surfing and being creative on waves, enjoying the ocean - that's scary to me. It was essential to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-hamilton/to-lose-your-everyday-life-of-surfing-and-being-creative-on-waves/) [Bethany Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-hamilton/) > [Trusting people to be creative and constructive when given more freedom does not imply an overly optimistic belief in the perfectibility of human nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/trusting-people-to-be-creative-and-constructive-when-given-more/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [I do like to be creative and I'm very lucky that I've been given different areas in which I'm able to do that -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-o-brien/i-do-like-to-be-creative-and-i-m-very-lucky-that-i-ve-been-given/) [Richard O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-o-brien/) > [I miss the city Bret and I live in, Wellington. It's a good place to be creative, in the same way New York is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemaine-clement/i-miss-the-city-bret-and-i-live-in-wellington-it-s-a-good-place-to-be/) [Jemaine Clement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemaine-clement/) > [I do explore the emotion every once in a while. I'd like to think you don't stop being creative once you get happy. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-do-explore-the-emotion-every-once-in-a-while-i-d-like-to-think-you/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I stopped doing comics because I found the pressure really high to nail it every time. It's really difficult to be creative all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beaton/i-stopped-doing-comics-because-i-found-the-pressure-really-high-to/) [Kate Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beaton/) > [If you never venture outside the box, you will probably not be creative. But if you never get inside the box, you will certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-peterson/if-you-never-venture-outside-the-box-you-will-probably-not-be/) [Christopher Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-peterson/) > [I got into acting because I wanted to act and I love acting. That's my true north: to be creative and to be challenged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/i-got-into-acting-because-i-wanted-to-act-and-i-love-acting-that-s-my/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [ I don't know that Brandy \[Burre\] would ever categorize herself as being trapped, but I felt like I saw her being trapped. When she's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-don-t-know-that-brandy-burre-would-ever-categorize-herself-as-being/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) Browse all 489 Be creative quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't be creative and still be a good girl.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erica Jong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-good-girl/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be creative" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-good-girl/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/erica-jong-445_be-creative_you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-goo_754205.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/erica-jong-445_be-creative_you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-goo_754205.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d0/erica-jong-445_be-creative_you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-goo_754205.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't be creative and still be a good girl.” — Erica Jong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erica Jong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't be creative and still...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-good-girl/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/you-can-t-be-creative-and-still-be-a-good-girl/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```