Jessye Norman Quotes

Ironically, women who acquire power are more likely to be criticized for it than are the men who have always had it.

Black men don't like to be called 'boys,' but women accept being called 'girls.'

We are still uneasy with women and power…For a man to be ruthless, he has to be like Joe McCarthy. For a woman, she just has to put somebody on hold.

The more successful you are as a man, the more you're liked. And the more successful you are as a woman, the more you're disliked.

Sexism is not the fault of women - kill your fathers, not your mothers.

People put stock in someone being in a 'girl group,' but we don't say that a band is a 'man group.'

What works for a man, still does not work for a woman - both in terms of how they see themselves and how we see them.

The most mediocre of males feels himself a demigod as compared with women.

Why is it men are permitted to be obsessed about their work, but women are only permitted to be obsessed about men?

Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to be consistently inept because they are thought to be so competent at everything else.

When women are in positions of power it's a hard place to be, especially when that position involves bossing men around.

If it's a woman, it's caustic; if it's a man, it's authoritative.

Girls have an unfair advantage over men: if they can't get what they want by being smart, they can get it by being dumb.

I'm not denyin' the women are foolish. God Almighty made 'em to match the men.

Feminism justified female 'victim power' by convincing the world that we lived in a sexist, male-dominated, and patriarchal world.

Too often, women are portrayed in two ways: as prizes to be won by men or as damsels in distress.

Much-derided chick lit, chick flicks, and chick magazines have left ambitious women in a bind. Why is it that I, a young woman, can read 'GQ,' enjoy 'Fight Club,' and subscribe to 'Thrillist,' while the idea of a guy doing the same with 'Glamour,' '27 Dresses' and 'Daily Candy' is nearly unheard of?

Female ambition is such a complicated thing to play because it is an aggressive quality, and people respond very badly to women exhibiting any kind of aggression.

I always say that bad women are fewer than men, but when you get one, they're fascinating because they're so rotten.

Men treat men differently than they would a woman.

A woman who places a high priority on performance and excellence is seen as imperial. A man is seen as demanding and tough.

When I look around the world, I don't see too many damsels in distress. If they're a damsel in distress, they're manipulating some guy to help them.

Society has always been male; political power has always been in the hands of men.

[Referring to Jesse Jackson:] ... one of that machismo group.

Women have to stand up to tremendous discriminatory practices, whether inherited traditions, whether imposed norms, male perceptions of power and control. The women always have to go through that and cannot take any privilege for granted.