--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being a feminist is not about how…" description: "\"Being a feminist is not about how successful, talented, and assertive you are in your own life. It's about whether you support the struggle to overcome..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/stephanie-coontz-3365_dreams_being-a-feminist-is-not-about-how-succes_2619538.png" --- # Being a feminist is not about how successful, talented… ![“Being a feminist is not about how successful, talented, and assertive you are in your own life. It's about whether you support the struggle to overcome the limiting gendered stereotypes and barriers that force so many women to restrict their aspirations as workers, to fulfill their aspirations as…” quote by Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/stephanie-coontz-3365_dreams_being-a-feminist-is-not-about-how-succes_2619538.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/stephanie-coontz-3365_dreams_being-a-feminist-is-not-about-how-succes_2619538.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/stephanie-coontz-3365_dreams_being-a-feminist-is-not-about-how-succes_2619538.png) > “Being a feminist is not about how successful, talented, and assertive you are in your own life. It's about whether you support the struggle to overcome the limiting gendered stereotypes and barriers that force so many women to restrict their aspirations as workers, to fulfill their aspirations as parents, and force so many men to do the opposite.” [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feminism is about supporting gender equity, not personal achievement alone. **In simple terms:** Support equality, not just personal success. Key Takeaway Advocate for systemic change. Themes gender equality feminism social justice Mood thoughtful determined Type manifest ical When to use this quote - workplace policies - parental leave - education reform - media representation Key Concepts intersectionality stereotype dismantling Questions to Reflect On - How can you help break gender stereotypes? - What actions promote true equality? A Different Perspective Some argue personal success proves gender progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Feminist Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist-successful-2097501/) [Force Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force-women-518165/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Stereotypes Barriers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stereotypes-barriers-2097502/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Women Restrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-restrict-2097503/) ## Related quotes > [Breaking stereotypes and my own barriers is great fun, because that's what leads to growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirti-kulhari/breaking-stereotypes-and-my-own-barriers-is-great-fun-because-that-s/) [Kirti Kulhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirti-kulhari/) > [I know the force women can exert in directing the course of events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-gahagan-douglas/i-know-the-force-women-can-exert-in-directing-the-course-of-events/) [Helen Gahagan Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-gahagan-douglas/) > [What does it say about a country that has to force its women into combat?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-boebert/what-does-it-say-about-a-country-that-has-to-force-its-women-into/) [Lauren Boebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-boebert/) > [“was religion an empowering force for women who otherwise had limited power in a society designed for and by men, or was it yer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/was-religion-an-empowering-force-for-women-who-otherwise-had-limited/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“There is, in fact, a primary driving force behind women's reluctance to see their ambition as a virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-condren/there-is-in-fact-a-primary-driving-force-behind-women-s-reluctance-to/) [Debra Condren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-condren/) > [Tears: The hydrolic force that women use to defeat men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/tears-the-hydrolic-force-that-women-use-to-defeat-men/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I think that women as a group are so powerful. I still don't think we are able to embrace our power well enough yet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-sedgwick/i-think-that-women-as-a-group-are-so-powerful-i-still-don-t-think-we/) [Kyra Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-sedgwick/) > [“Faith, whichever way Selma understood it, infused her with a sense of surrender that could have been a cause of weakness had it not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/faith-whichever-way-selma-understood-it-infused-her-with-a-sense-of/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“We fight wars over dirt and oil and ego when we should fight wars against men who force women to live that kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/we-fight-wars-over-dirt-and-oil-and-ego-when-we-should-fight-wars/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Black women's intersectional experiences of racism and sexism have been a central but forgotten dynamic in the unfolding of feminist and antiracist agendas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/black-women-s-intersectional-experiences-of-racism-and-sexism-have/) [Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/) > [Women have seen that they have locked themselves up with feminist writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/women-have-seen-that-they-have-locked-themselves-up-with-feminist/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Stephanie Coontz > [As an overly confident college freshman, the first time I received a below-average score on an exam was a needed wake-up call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/as-an-overly-confident-college-freshman-the-first-time-i-received-a/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [For every nineteenth-century middle-class family that protected its wife and child within the family circle, there was an Irish ora German girl scrubbing floors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/for-every-nineteenth-century-middle-class-family-that-protected-its/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [A primary motivation for introducing no-fault divorce was, in fact, to reduce perjury in the legal system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/a-primary-motivation-for-introducing-no-fault-divorce-was-in-fact-to/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Graduating from high school is certainly a good idea, but it's no longer much protection against poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/graduating-from-high-school-is-certainly-a-good-idea-but-it-s-no/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/almost-all-scholarly-research-carries-practical-and-political/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Investing in living-wage jobs and reducing the inequities between local school districts would give young people more, not less, incentive to postpone childbearing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/investing-in-living-wage-jobs-and-reducing-the-inequities-between/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Hyper-parenting has many pitfalls. Overprotected and overpraised children may develop an inflated sense of entitlement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/hyper-parenting-has-many-pitfalls-overprotected-and-overpraised/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Social and economic policies constructed around the male breadwinner model have always disadvantaged women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/social-and-economic-policies-constructed-around-the-male-breadwinner/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [When I speak on work-family issues to audiences around the country, some of the biggest complaints I hear come from individuals who are described…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/when-i-speak-on-work-family-issues-to-audiences-around-the-country/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Extended families have never been the norm in America; the highest figure for extended-family households ever recorded in Americanhistory is 20 percent. Contrary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/extended-families-have-never-been-the-norm-in-america-the-highest/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Unilateral divorce has decreased the bargaining power of the person who wants the marriage to last and has not engaged in behavior that meets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/unilateral-divorce-has-decreased-the-bargaining-power-of-the-person/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [The closer we get to achieving equality of opportunity between the sexes, the more clearly we can see that the next major obstacle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/the-closer-we-get-to-achieving-equality-of-opportunity-between-the/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Families have always been in flux and often in crisis; they have never lived up to nostalgic notions about "the way things used tobe."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/families-have-always-been-in-flux-and-often-in-crisis-they-have-never/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [A significant minority of senior women I've interviewed say, 'Love the companionship, glad to live with him, but I spent my first marriage picking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/a-significant-minority-of-senior-women-i-ve-interviewed-say-love-the/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Marriage can provide a bounty of emotional, practical, and financial support. But finding the right mate is no substitute for having friends and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/marriage-can-provide-a-bounty-of-emotional-practical-and-financial/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) [Explore all 132 Stephanie Coontz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being a feminist is not about how successful, talented, and assertive you are in your own life. 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