Best Of Soraya Chemaly's "Rage Becomes Her"

Here is a selection of memorable quotes from Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger by Soraya Chemaly

It took me too long to realize that the people most inclined to say "You sound angry" are the same people who uniformly don't care to ask "Why?" They're interested in silence, not dialogue. This response to women expressing anger happens on larger and larger scales: in schools, places of worship, the work-place, and politics. A society that does not respect women's anger is one that does not respect women—not as human beings, thinkers, knowers, active participants, or citizens.

p. xxii

We are so busy teaching girls to be likeable that we often forget to teach them, as we do boys, that they should be respected.

p. 8

When we call our anger sadness instead of anger, we often fail to acknowledge what is wrong, specifically in a way that discourages us from imagining and pursuing change. Sadness, as an emotion, is paired with acceptance. Anger, on the other hand, invokes the possibility of change and of fighting back.

p. 25

The expectation of forgiveness often involves shaming you for not feeling forgiving. This is dismissive in that it ignores feelings of hurt, pain, and trauma and contributes to the sense that you do not deserve to be heard. Forgive nothing until you are good and ready to, especially if there has been no indication that the behavior causing you distress has changed.

p. 268-269