Erica Jong Quotes and Sayings
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“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
-- Erica Jong -
“I was always a feminist. My mother was a feminist; my grandmother was a feminist. I always understood women had to fight very hard to do what they wanted to do in the world - that it wasn't an easy choice. But I think the most important part is that we all want the right to be taken seriously as human beings, and to use our talents without reservation, and that's still not possible for women.”
-- Erica Jong -
“Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.”
-- Erica Jong -
“The absolute bedrock of our independence is having control over our own bodies. You cannot be independent if the government or someone else says whether or not you can use birth control. Unless you're in charge of your body, you're not in charge of anything. I think that's really the bottom line of feminism.”
-- Erica Jong -
“Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.”
-- Erica Jong -
“It's useful to know how much society's holding you back. My mother would talk about how she was told by the head of her art school that she was the best painter, but that she wouldn't get the biggest prize because she would waste her talent by having children. I think we have to get honest with girls about how they can expect the world to block them, and we have to prepare girls, and ourselves, to break through those blocks.”
-- Erica Jong -
“You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.”
-- Erica Jong -
“I hope we don't have to keep going back over the same territory and winning the same rights over and over again. The battle for birth control. The battle for abortion. The parity of women's health. It's very depressing to think that you win these rights, but then you have to win them again, and again, and again, and fight the same battles over and over.”
-- Erica Jong -
“I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.”
-- Erica Jong