---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Women should be tough, tender, laugh as…"
description: "\"Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. The struggle for equality continues unabated, and the woman warrior who ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/maya-angelou-104_celebrate_women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-mu_392748.png"
---

#  Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible…

![“Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. The struggle for equality continues unabated, and the woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage will be among the first to celebrate victory.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/maya-angelou-104_celebrate_women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-mu_392748.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/maya-angelou-104_celebrate_women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-mu_392748.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/maya-angelou-104_celebrate_women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-mu_392748.png)

> “Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. The struggle for equality continues unabated, and the woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage will be among the first to celebrate victory.”

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Encourages women to embody strength, compassion, joy, and longevity while fighting for equality, celebrating victory with wit and courage

**In simple terms:** Women should be strong, kind, joyful, and live long while seeking equality

Key Takeaway

Embrace resilience, humor, and courage in the fight for gender equality

Themes

strength joy equality resilience humor

Mood

inspirational determined hopeful

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- activism
- career advancement
- personal health
- community leadership

Key Concepts

feminist empowerment social justice personal development

Questions to Reflect On

- How can women cultivate both strength and tenderness?
- What role does humor play in overcoming adversity?

A Different Perspective

Balancing toughness and tenderness can be socially challenging and may face stereotypes

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Long life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-life/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) [Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warrior/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) [Woman warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-warrior/)

## Related quotes

> [Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-much-as-possible-and-live-long-2/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Resounding…with wit, courage, and compassion. Skinny will speak to everyone who has ever felt invisible or unlovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathi-appelt/resounding-with-wit-courage-and-compassion-skinny-will-speak-to/)

[Kathi Appelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathi-appelt/)

> [Is it possible your pragmatical worship should not know that the comparisons made between wit and wit, courage and courage, beauty and beauty, birth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/is-it-possible-your-pragmatical-worship-should-not-know-that-the/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [The world is tough, women inspire the world with their kindness, wit and courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kishore-bansal/the-world-is-tough-women-inspire-the-world-with-their-kindness-wit/)

[Kishore Bansal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kishore-bansal/)

> [The more wit the less courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/the-more-wit-the-less-courage/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [“Now this court will learn that I am the greatest in wit and courage. I am he whose writing the blind see and whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-this-court-will-learn-that-i-am-the-greatest-in-wit-and-courage-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think a lot of the most interesting immigrant writing involves stepping outside of that old, dreary binary. Chang-rae Lee's Native Speaker is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-think-a-lot-of-the-most-interesting-immigrant-writing-involves/)

[Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/)

> [Our whole world is entrenched in sin. There in the quiet of our hearts a woman is calling us, each one of us, back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-caviezel/our-whole-world-is-entrenched-in-sin-there-in-the-quiet-of-our-hearts/)

[Jim Caviezel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-caviezel/)

> [I have found things that I could have done better in 'The Woman Warrior.' But then I thought: Let the work of one's youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/i-have-found-things-that-i-could-have-done-better-in-the-woman/)

[Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/)

> [“I learn this: “The word Ezer has two roots: strong and benevolent. The best translation of Ezer is: Warrior.” God created woman as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glennon-doyle-melton/i-learn-this-the-word-ezer-has-two-roots-strong-and-benevolent-the/)

[Glennon Doyle Melton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glennon-doyle-melton/)

> [“That image of Joan of Arc burning up in a fire burned inside me like a new religion. Her face skyward. Her faith muscled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/that-image-of-joan-of-arc-burning-up-in-a-fire-burned-inside-me-like/)

[Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/)

> [“I am a wild woman. it would take a warrior to tame my spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/i-am-a-wild-woman-it-would-take-a-warrior-to-tame-my-spirit/)

[Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/)

> [A woman is a warrior too. But she is meant to be a warrior in a uniquely feminine way. Sometime before the sorrows of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stasi-eldredge/a-woman-is-a-warrior-too-but-she-is-meant-to-be-a-warrior-in-a/)

[Stasi Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stasi-eldredge/)

> [Through Biblical times, there have been great women warriors and now the sport is so populated that these are the women warriors that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-canino/through-biblical-times-there-have-been-great-women-warriors-and-now/)

[Bonnie Canino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-canino/)

> [Perhaps...I am the face of one of your fears. Because I am a woman, because I am Black, because I am a lesbian, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/perhaps-i-am-the-face-of-one-of-your-fears-because-i-am-a-woman/)

[Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/)

## More by Maya Angelou

> [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

[Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

## More Celebrate quotes

> [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/)

[Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/)

> [Spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. Joy is of the essence of life;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnivesh/spiritually-life-is-a-festival-a-celebration-joy-is-of-the-essence-of/)

[Agnivesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnivesh/)

> [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/)

[J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/)

> [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [Trying to find this industry's tendency to celebrate the physical is a waste of time. So I'm happy to play the game. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/trying-to-find-this-industry-s-tendency-to-celebrate-the-physical-is/)

[Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/)

> [On Valentine's Day, couples in Calgary can celebrate their love for each other with couples' nude yoga - great way to get in shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sagal/on-valentine-s-day-couples-in-calgary-can-celebrate-their-love-for/)

[Peter Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sagal/)

> [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/)

[Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/)

> [No matter what day we celebrate Australia Day, let's celebrate it together and give thanks to the original inhabitants of this vast country. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/no-matter-what-day-we-celebrate-australia-day-let-s-celebrate-it/)

[Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/)

> [I'm not so much in the future as always in the present. The future always takes care of itself. What I do now with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-m-not-so-much-in-the-future-as-always-in-the-present-the-future/)

[Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/)

> [Birth, life, death is a cycle. And they're all beautiful, you celebrate all of them. Animals do grieve, but they move on. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/birth-life-death-is-a-cycle-and-they-re-all-beautiful-you-celebrate/)

[Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/)

> [I just wanted to jump into the stands and start celebrating with those wonderful fans. (on reaching the Champions League final)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gerrard/i-just-wanted-to-jump-into-the-stands-and-start-celebrating-with/)

[Steven Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gerrard/)

> [What I have found is, so much of that is like a Chinese finger trap: the more you play to the dark, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/what-i-have-found-is-so-much-of-that-is-like-a-chinese-finger-trap/)

[Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/)

> [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> [While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-cox/while-we-celebrate-our-diversity-what-surprises-me-time-and-time/)

[Jo Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-cox/)

> [I feel like the downfall of any person is the second an artist starts celebrating their work themselves, that becomes problematic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/i-feel-like-the-downfall-of-any-person-is-the-second-an-artist-starts/)

[Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/)

Browse all 2,313 Celebrate quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. The struggle for equality continues unabated, and the woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage will be among the first to celebrate victory.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Maya Angelou"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-much-as-possible-and-live-long/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Celebrate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-much-as-possible-and-live-long/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/maya-angelou-104_celebrate_women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-mu_392748.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/maya-angelou-104_celebrate_women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-mu_392748.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/maya-angelou-104_celebrate_women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-mu_392748.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives. The struggle for equality…” — Maya Angelou",
                "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": "Maya Angelou",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Women should be tough, tender, laugh...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-much-as-possible-and-live-long/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/women-should-be-tough-tender-laugh-as-much-as-possible-and-live-long/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
