Women are often told that they aren’t enough: not smart enough, not thin enough, not curvy enough, not pretty enough, not classy enough, and on and on. Unfortunately, sometimes we are told these things so frequently that sometimes, we start to believe them.
My favorite way to fight these negative thoughts is to read or listen to the words of women who have defied these notions by courageously being themselves, something we are all capable of doing. To that end, here is a list of my top 10 speeches or poems that remind me that I’m always enough, just as you are.
- Women’s Rights are Human Rights by Hillary Clinton
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Best lines:
“We need to understand there is no one formula for how women should lead our lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her own God-given potential. But we must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected.”
- Ain’t I A Woman? by Sojourner Truth
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Best lines:
“If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!”
- Women’s March Speech by Gloria Steinem
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Best lines:
“We are here and around the world for a deep democracy that says we will not be quiet, we will not be controlled, we will work for a world in which all countries are connected. God may be in the details, but the goddess is in connections. We are at one with each other, we are looking at each other, not up.”
- Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
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Best lines:
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
- Gender Equality is Your Issue Too by Emma Watson
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Best Lines:
“It is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights.”
- what’s the greatest lesson a woman should learn? by Rupi Kaur
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The short poem:
“that since day one. she’s already had everything
she needs within herself. it’s the world that
convinced her she did not.”
- Untitled Poem by Morgan Harper Nichols
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Best Lines:
“Light ran wild
Within her,
And that was the way
She came alive”
- Self love by r.h. Sin
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Best line:
“You have to choose yourself, even when others refuse to.”
- One Morning She Woke Up Different by Anonymous
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Best line:
“Life is way too short to leave the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket.”
- Remember, Woman by Reese Leyva
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Best lines:
“You were born with the fire of Queens & conquerors,
warrioress blood you bleed.”