Our Shared Shelf Quotes & Sayings

From the moment little boys are taught they should not cry or express hurt, feelings of loneliness, or pain, that they must be tough, they are learning how to mask true feelings. In worst-case scenarios they are learning how to not feel anything ever. — Bell Hooks

An individual does not need to be a believer in a religion to embrace the idea that there is an animating principle in the self
a life force (some of us call it soul) that when nurtured enhances our capacity to be more fully self-actualized and able to engage in communion with the world around us. — Bell Hooks

At times women find it difficult to hear what men have to say when what they tell us does not conform to our fantasies of who they are or who we want them to be. — Bell Hooks

Embracing love ethic means that we utilize all dimensions of love
"care, commitment, trust, responsibility, respect and knowledge"
in our everyday lives. — Bell Hooks

To be loving is to be open to grief, to be touched by sorrow, even sorrow that is unending. — Bell Hooks

When men lie to women, presenting a false self, the terrible price they pay to maintain "power over" us is the loss of their capacity to give and receive love. — Bell Hooks

The choice to love is a choice to connect
to find ourselves in the other. — Bell Hooks

All awakening to love is spiritual awakening — Bell Hooks

Everyone has a home but me. — Gloria Steinem

It is no accident that greater cultural acceptance of lying in this society coincided with women gaining greater social equality. — Bell Hooks

Love empowers us to live fully and die well. Death becomes, then, not an end to life but a part of living. — Bell Hooks

A love ethic presupposes that everyone has the right to be free, to live fully and well. — Bell Hooks

If we succeed without confronting and changing shaking foundation of low self-esteem rooted in contempt of hatred, we will falter along the way. — Bell Hooks

Love allows us to confront these negative realities in a manner that is life-affirming and life enhancing. — Bell Hooks

The idea that women are 'our own worst enemies' forces us to admit that we don't have the power to be, even if we wanted too. — Gloria Steinem

While the will to love is present in very young children, they still need guidance in the ways of love. — Bell Hooks

Mrs. Greene made me understand the parallels between race and caste
and how women's bodies were used to perpetuate both. Different prisons. Same key. — Gloria Steinem

I learned then that it is more fulfilling to live one's life within a circle of love, interacting with loved ones to whole we are committed. — Bell Hooks

The heart of justice is truth telling, seeing ourselves and the world the way it is rather than the way we want to be. — Bell Hooks

Discipline and devotion are necessary to the practice of love, all the more so when relationships are just beginning. — Bell Hooks

In truth, true love is all about work. — Bell Hooks

Don't write when you're angry and under deadline, with time to test it only on friends who know what you mean, not on strangers who don't. — Gloria Steinem

True forgiveness requires that we understand the negative actions of another. — Bell Hooks

Go," she whispered. "Go. Show them you spell your name W-O-M-A-N. — Maya Angelou

If we were constantly remembering that love is as love does, we would not use the word in a manner that devalues and degrades it's meaning. — Bell Hooks

True love does have the power to redeem but only if we are ready for redemption. — Bell Hooks

To maintain and satisfy greed, one must support domination. And the world of domination is always a world without love. — Bell Hooks

Being loving does not mean we will not be betrayed. Love helps up face betrayal without losing heart. And it renews our spirit so we can love again. — Bell Hooks

As feminism has changed academia by enlarging what is taught, academia has sometimes changed feminism. — Gloria Steinem

Refusal to stand up for what you believe in weakens individual morality and ethics as well as those of the culture. — Bell Hooks

Spirituality and spiritual life gives us the strength to love. — Bell Hooks

Erotic attention often serves as the catalyst for an intimate connection between two people, but it is not a sign of love. — Bell Hooks

Rescuing girls from brothels is the easy part, however. The challenge is keeping them from returning. The stigma that girls feel in their communities after being freed, coupled with drug dependencies or threats from pimps, often lead to return to the re-light district. — Nicholas D. Kristof

Self-acceptance is hard for many of us. There is a voice inside that is constantly judging, first ourselves and then others. — Bell Hooks

To bring a love ethic to every dimension of our lives, our society would need to embrace change. — Bell Hooks