It’s March 8, and you know what that means – International Women’s Day is here!
A couple in their 70s are making porn to show sex doesn’t stop as you get older
With Brexit looming, and Trump in the White House, it can all feel a little bit doom and gloom sometimes.
However, on days like today, it’s important to take stock of how far women’s rights have come, and mark the achievements of the women who have gone before us and, in many ways, paved the way for our success.
When it comes to female athletes, who’ve worked in a notoriously sexist field, this sentiment is particularly strong, so we’ve put together some badass quotes from women all over the world of sport.
Donna Orender – basketball player
‘Women: When we team up we are incredibly pwoerful. Find someone to team up with … Our voices collectiively really do make a difference and change and perspective is worth fighting for.’
Michelle Payne – jockey
‘It’s such a chauvinistic sport, a lot of the owners wanted to kick me off. Everyone else can get stuffed [who] think women aren’t good enough.’
Serena Williams – tennis player
(After she was asked about being considered ‘one of the greatest female athletes of all time’) ‘Well, I prefer the words “one of the greatest athletes of all time”.’
Bethany Hamilton – surfer
‘Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.’
Michelle Wie – golfer
‘We’re all just playing our own game. I don’t see it as a rivalry. We’re just trying to play our best.’
Katie Taylor – boxer
‘I want to tell girls, it’s not about make-up and how you look that’s important; you are so much more than how you look.’
Emma-Jayne Wilson – jockey
‘There is a perception among many trainers and owners that women aren’t as strong riders as men but I disagree. My goal was to be one of the strongest finishers out there — and now I am. I set out to prove that we are just as good, if not better than the boys.’
Maria Sharapova – tennis player
‘Just like in any field, women have to endure and ultimately overcome challenges or misperceptions. Women are continuously judged for outward appearance by the media and the public — so projecting confidence in your own personal power and strength is paramount to redirecting that focus.’
Anna Kournikova – tennis player
‘There are a lot of pretty girls. I am a tennis player first of all, that is why I am here, and if wasn’t producing results no one would notice me.’
Diane Crump – jockey
‘A horse doesn’t know whether the rider on his back wears a dress or pants away from the track.’
Jackie Joyner-Kersee – track and field athlete
‘Girls playing sports is not about winning gold medals. It’s about self-esteem, learning to compete and learning how hard you have to work in order to achieve your goals.’
Chantal Sutherland – jockey
‘I want to see more girls coming in to the sport. There were actually a lot in Canada when I was riding there, but we can let girls know that they can be jockeys. And if they can’t be jockeys, why can’t they be owners or trainers? We need to invite girls in.’
Billie Jean King – tennis player
‘Ever since that day when I was 11 years old, and I wasn’t allowed in a photo because I wasn’t wearing a tennis skirt, I knew that I wanted to change the sport.’
Wilma Rudolph – sprinter
‘‘The triumph can’t be had without the struggle. And I know what struggle is. I have spent a lifetime trying to share what it has meant to be a woman first in the world of sports so that other young women have a chance to reach their dreams.’
Mia Hamm – football player
‘Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back… play for her’
Julie Krone – jockey
‘If the stable gate is closed, climb the fence’