Hearing the Beastie Boys speak out against sexism made me feel like if these men who had once sung about getting girls to ‘do the laundry’ and ‘clean up my room’ could understand, maybe the rest of the world would follow suit. It made me hopeful in the best way. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
I think talking is as casual as blogging, and sometimes writing can be as casual as talking. My informal writing style is a political choice, because I want feminism to be more accessible. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
I grew up in Long Island City. When I was growing up, my parents owned a women’s clothing store in Queens. It was for older women. I got my bras there, until I realized I didn’t want those huge, taupe bras. Everything was beige, with massive amounts of hooks. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
There’s something really terrible about having your BlackBerry next to your bed or having your laptop in the living room when you’re talking to someone. The biggest source of stress in my life is the screen, the blogging. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
I think that the ideal of parenting can make people unhappy. It’s that this lie that they’re being told by society that parenting is one thing – and when parenting is something completely different – that’s what makes them unhappy. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
When you ask most American parents why they want to have kids, it’s to bring more joy into their lives. So, when you don’t feel that all-encompassing joy, it must be that something is wrong with you. I think it’s dissatisfaction that the expectation was different than the reality. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
Women are brought up to believe you are going to be the better parent and you know what’s best. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. As much as we have to ask men to step it up, we have to take a look at ourselves and be willing to give up some of that parental power. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices – it amplifies our messages as well. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
I hope that by modeling feminism in my own life, work and relationships that it will haut become an organic part of my daughter’s life. But I’m also fully prepared for her to become a Republican as a way to rebel as a teenager – that would be just my luck! Jessica Valenti Read Quote
There have been women who stumbled across Feministing randomly, through a bizarre Google search or something, and had no idea what feminism was. They thought it was something older women do, or bought into the hairy bra-burning man-hating stereotype 100 percent. Anything that deviates from that is very exciting for them. Jessica Valenti Read Quote
