There's no doubt about it -- women's rights have changed quite a bit over the past 50 or 60 years, and these Gloria Steinem quotes have quite a bit to do with it. It takes courage, dedication, tenacity and intelligence to change the world for the better -- attributes that were once thought to belong mostly to men. Thanks to women like Gloria Steinem, that's all changed. Let these 10 quotes remind us why...



1. "Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That's their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood."

2. "Childbirth is more admirable than conquest, more amazing than self-defense, and as courageous as either one."

3. "Happy or unhappy, families are all mysterious. We have only to imagine how differently we would be described - and will be, after our deaths - by each of the family members who believe they know us."

4. "The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off."

5. "Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself."

6. "For women... bras, panties, bathing suits, and other stereotypical gear are visual reminders of a commercial, idealized feminine image that our real and diverse female bodies can't possibly fit. Without these visual references, each individual woman's body demands to be accepted on its own terms. We stop being comparatives. We begin to be unique."

7. "If women are supposed to be less rational and more emotional at the beginning of our menstrual cycle when the female hormone is at its lowest level, then why isn't it logical to say that, in those few days, women behave the most like the way men behave all month long?"

8. "If you say, "I'm for equal pay," that's a reform. But if you say. "I'm a feminist," that's ... a transformation of society."

9. "If young women have a problem, it's only that they think there's no problem."

10. "For much of the female half of the world, food is the first signal of our inferiority. It lets us know that our own families may consider female bodies to be less deserving, less needy, less valuable."

Gloria Steinem's views may have been controversial at one time, but you don't have to agree with everything she's ever said to agree with the fact that she changed the world for the better. As her birthday rolls in, let's help her celebrate by looking at and admiring these 10 Gloria Steinem quotes.