Grrl Power: Cool Teen Quotes

Morgan says:

I'm really into grrl power and raising self esteem for teens and young girls. Here are some of my favorite grrl power quotes I've collected from friends and other teens I admire. If you have a grrl power quote, send it in.

Here's mine to start things off:
"One day when I was 10, my friend Sarah yelled out to a boy on the soccer field, 'You run like a girl!' I said, 'Why did you say that? You just insulted me, yourself, and all girls.' She replied, 'No, I didn't, but he runs so slowly.' She just didn't get it."
--Morgan Arons, 15

"Has anyone noticed that advertisements for cleaning products always involve women?"
--Claire, 11, Maple Grove, Minnesota

"I have a problem with the word 'tomboy'. I think it's wrong because athletic girls are girls, too. We shouldn't be labeled as girly-girls and tomboys. All girls are equal no matter what they're interested in."
--Sara, 12, Memphis, Tennessee

"Most derby car drivers are men between the ages of 20 and 50...I grew up knowing I'd drive derby cars someday...I won first place three times, second place once, and third place another time....One thing I've learned is to ignore what other people think and say about you. Sometimes I feel unwanted at a derby....I've overheard guys say that a girl doesn't belong in the ring. I ignore them and show everyone that I can drive as well as they can. I'm there to have fun, and if I worried about other people's opinions, it wouldn't be fun."
--Mary Y., 17, Minnesota

"A lot of people are strongly influenced by the media, and they treat women like meat because that's what they see in the media."
--Jordan, 13, Oregon

"There was an overweight girl in my class. One year she sang a song for the talent show and got laughed at. At a school party, another girl asked her to sing the song for everyone. The second girl asked her only so she would get laughed at. Girls' lives are already hard. Why should we make life harder for other girls?"
--Madeline, 15, Overland Park, Kansas

"I think girls are mean to other girls because they're insecure. They build up their self-esteem by hurting other girls. Unfortunately, this kind of self-esteem is short-lived and makes both girls feel awful."
--Megan, 15, Camden, Maine

"Girls are powerful when they have determination...especially in numbers. They have emotions, and they show them. They show this power through their words and actions."
--Haibinh Nguyen, 15, Southeast Asia

"I consider myself a feminist. A feminist is someone (girl or not) who wants equal, not better, rights for women. They are not complainers. Nobody can be too feminist."
--Nora G. 12, St. Cloud, Minnesota

"When people say that boys are smarter than girls, they're not only generally wrong but also scientifically wrong. Scientists proved that there is no smarter sex. Although boys/men do have larger brains, it doesn't mean they're smarter. Tests prove that women do equally well or even better on IQ tests. Scientists also believe that smaller brains store energy, memory, and wits more compactly. Now we have proof that if we're not smarter, we're at least equal! And that's what really counts - ending sexism."
--Alexandra, 12, Seaforth, Ontario, Canada

"There's a Chinese proverb: 'It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.' That's a good motto because it means it's better to take action than just sit around and say, 'That's too bad but I can't make a difference.'"
--Arielle R. and Valorie D., teenagers

"It's only a boy's football game until a girl joins."
--Kim Tebo, high school senior, upon being crowned homecoming queen after having just kicked two extra points and a field goal to help her team win their first game of the year.