Julia London Quotes

Growing up with three older brothers and being the youngest and the only girl, my mom always made me tough. She's taught me over the years how to be a strong, independent woman, how to carry yourself in a positive way and anything that my brothers can do, I can do.

Women see me as a figure they can respect. They know I've been through a lot. I'm not going to let no man put me under.

My mother wanted me to understand that as a woman I could do pretty much whatever I wanted to, that I didn't have to use sex or sexuality to define myself.

I don't think women in India are vulnerable.

I am not a snowflake. I am not a sweet, infantilising symbol of fragility and life. I am a strong, fierce, flawed adult woman. I plan to remain that way, in life and in death.

I never allow myself to be pressured.

I have more of a desire to write songs about being an independent woman than being in love, songs about getting up and moving on even if I have a broken heart. 'Wanna Say' is one of the few love songs I've ever done.

Growing up with the childhood that I had, I learned to never let a man make me feel helpless, and it also embedded a deep need in me to always stick up for women.

Lara Croft is such a strong individual, she's very driven, she doesn't need a man, she's speaks her own mind, and that she's in control of her own life. It's a lot of what women want and have.

The history of American women is all about leaving home - crossing oceans and continents, or getting jobs and living on their own.

In retrospect, I have come to recognise just how astounding my mother was during our childhood. She kept a woodwork shop and made beautiful furniture, as well as raising the pair of us in a society dominated by men. There really is nothing like war to reveal the power of patriarchy, but she always retained her independence.

I suppose I have played a lot of put-upon women, but it's never bothered me. They've never been weak - they've always got steel in them.

It's kind of epic to see four women really be physically and mentally strong, in themselves and in their lives. That's what 'Widows' is.

My sister is strong.

It was so important that women were involved in 'She's Gotta Have It' because it's about a woman's opinion. It's about her views of herself, and the world around her, and how the world perceives her, and finding that ground for herself - not even a common ground, but that ground for herself in which she can walk on firmly with confidence.

Some people have tried to change me and tell me what to do, but I haven't done it, and it's worked for me.

I feel so blessed that I grew up in the age of the independent woman, the survivor. I had Destiny's Child telling me I didn't need a man to feel good about myself, and I want to carry on that message.

I think it's important to be that strong woman and to follow your passions regardless of what your situation is.

We had so many obstacles. We had a lot of sexism and misogyny, there's a lot of things that were against us. But we've just pushed forward and we showed everybody.

Times have changed. Girls no longer let people treat them like doormats. They take their decisions and stick to them. This makes me happy.

The girls in my books are out solving their own problems.

My characters are turned upside down and trying to reinvent themselves but don't need a white knight. They can save themselves in a crisis.

As long as women are isolated one from the other, not allowed to offer other women the most personal accounts of their lives, they will not be part of any narratives of their own…women will be staving off destiny and not inviting or inventing or controlling it.

I've always thought that the most perfect fate which could befall any woman would be to be born a rich widow.

Real feminism is spinsterhood. It's time America admitted that old maids give all women a good name.