Rebecca Traister Quotes

Powerful Rebecca Traister for Daily Growth

About Rebecca Traister

Rebecca Traister is an acclaimed American journalist, writer, and cultural critic, best known for her in-depth analysis of gender, politics, and culture. Born on February 15, 1979, in New York City, Traister grew up with a strong appreciation for the written word, nurtured by her parents who were both journalists. After graduating from Barnard College in 2000, she began her journalistic career at Salon and later worked as a reporter for The New Republic. In 2010, she joined the staff of the progressive news outlet, The New Yorker magazine. Her work has also appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, Elle, and The Guardian. Traister's first book, "Big Girls Don't Cry: An Investigation" (2009), was a deeply personal exploration of the Hillary Clinton 2008 Presidential campaign, focusing on the experiences of women in American politics. Her second book, "All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation" (2016), became a New York Times bestseller, delving into the historical, cultural, and political aspects of single women's lives and their impact on society. In her latest work, "Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger" (2018), Traister examines women's anger as a potent political force in American history. Her writing is praised for its insightful analysis, vivid storytelling, and ability to illuminate complex issues with clarity and empathy. Rebecca Traister continues to be a prominent voice on gender politics and cultural trends, using her platform to amplify women's voices and shed light on the issues that matter most to them. Her work serves as a powerful reminder of the indomitable spirit of women and their role in shaping American society.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"We don't yet know what this new world looks like, because we have not yet lived in it."

This quote by Rebecca Traister signifies the ongoing process of societal evolution, particularly as it relates to gender roles and expectations. It implies that we are on the brink of a transformative period where traditional norms may be dismantled, leading to an unknown but hopefully more equitable future. The phrase "we have not yet lived in it" suggests that we must continue to move forward, exploring this new world through our collective experiences and actions.


"The question of how to build a future that is better for women and girls has always been a question about how to build a future that is better for everyone."

This quote by Rebecca Traister suggests that gender equality, focusing on women and girls, isn't just about improving the lives of half the population; it's about creating a better world for everyone. The pursuit of equal opportunities, rights, and treatment for women and girls is intertwined with the pursuit of a fairer, more equitable society overall. In other words, when we work towards gender equality, we are also improving the quality of life for all people by fostering a culture that values justice, respect, and inclusivity.


"To be free means to own oneself, wholly and fully, to live with intention and purpose, and to do so without the fear of reprisal or retribution."

This quote by Rebecca Traister underscores the essence of freedom as self-ownership, autonomy, and living a purposeful life, free from fear of punishment or backlash. It emphasizes that true freedom lies in the ability to live intentionally, express one's identity, pursue passions, and make personal choices without external interference or retribution. This interpretation encourages individuals to cultivate their individuality, embrace self-expression, and strive for a society where everyone has the opportunity to live free from prejudice or oppression.


"The history of this country has been one of a persistent struggle against exclusion—of race, of gender, of sexuality, of class, of ability. It is a struggle that continues, and one in which women, especially those who are not white, still bear the weight."

This quote by Rebecca Traister highlights the ongoing fight for inclusion and equality in American history across various dimensions, including race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability. She emphasizes that this struggle is far from over, particularly for women who are not white, suggesting an uneven distribution of the burden of exclusion and marginalization. This insight underscores the importance of continuing efforts towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in our society to ensure a more just and fair future for all.


"It's never too late to claim your full citizenship to the world, to this life, to yourself."

This quote by Rebecca Traister encourages the idea that personal growth and self-discovery are ongoing processes. It suggests that one should continuously strive to fully engage with the world, their own life, and themselves, regardless of when they begin this journey. It's a call to embrace one's potential and live an authentic life, emphasizing that it is never too late to learn, explore, or transform oneself.


During childbearing years, changing jobs - even for a fundamentally better gig - can be a very bad idea. Those prime childbearing years - mid-twenties to early forties - overlap precisely with prime professional years. This is when employees are most attractive to new employers, when they should be able to zip up ladders with the most alacrity.

- Rebecca Traister

Bad, Idea, Very, Gig

Like everyone else, I can barely take the waves of embarrassment that come with watching someone do something so badly. Roseanne Barr singing the national anthem, Sofia Coppola acting in 'The Godfather: Part III,' Sarah Palin talking about Russia - they all create the same level of eyeball-squinching discomfort.

- Rebecca Traister

Part, Badly, Anthem, Sarah

In some ways, privileged women who are closer to power wind up being able to exert their influence in ways that change public policy in ways that women with less power don't have access to.

- Rebecca Traister

Change, Some, Access, Public Policy

It's important to remember that, while poverty certainly makes single life harder, it also makes married life harder - so much harder that single life might be preferable.

- Rebecca Traister

Might, Makes, Certainly, Married Life

Obama has proved to be particularly adept at using the media to disseminate his administration's messages, but he is a masterful orator. Bill Clinton, too.

- Rebecca Traister

Using, Particularly, Adept

I'd spent my whole adult life considering myself an independent entity, my life filled by work and friends and family. Suddenly I had a male partner, someone I woke up with and went to sleep with every night.

- Rebecca Traister

My Life, Independent, Woke, Considering

A very successful woman, Palin has the wherewithal to move forward consciously. What she did was move forward thoughtlessly and overconfidently, without considering that her abilities or qualifications would ever be questioned.

- Rebecca Traister

Woman, Move, Very, Considering

It's a controversial issue: many feminists reasonably worry that by taking the concentration off gender as an independent locus of oppression, we dilute the strength of a women's movement, or of women's rights advocacy.

- Rebecca Traister

Worry, Gender, Issue, Advocacy

The diminishment of southern contests is the kind of veiled racist rhetoric that Bill Clinton deployed memorably in South Carolina in 2008, and which does not look any more attractive on Bernie - the guy whose campaign is centered on the premise that he plays cleaner and more progressive politics than his opponents.

- Rebecca Traister

Politics, Southern, South, Progressive

Single female life is not prescription, but its opposite: liberation.

- Rebecca Traister

Single, Prescription, Liberation

There may be many benefits to working outside the home for wages, but it's certainly not been done as an act of liberation. It's an act of economic necessity and has been since the beginning of time.

- Rebecca Traister

Benefits, Been, Certainly, Liberation

Roseanne was a huge groundbreaking comedian. Margaret Cho. Ellen DeGeneres, and then on 'Saturday Night Live,' the era of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler sort of helped to bring in an awareness of a new generation of women comedians, often women who were feminist in their comedy, who were unafraid - and this came from the genre of show that was emerging.

- Rebecca Traister

Saturday, Bring, Show, Tina

All the epic allusions contribute to the difficulty Clinton has long had in coming across as, simply, a human being. She is uneasy with the press and ungainly on the stump. Catching a glimpse of the 'real' her often entails spying something out of the corner of your eye, in a moment when she's not trying to be, or to sell, 'Hillary Clinton.'

- Rebecca Traister

Clinton, Entails, Contribute, Spying

'The Cosby Show' was a show about black people that was fundamentally and unequivocally friendly to whiteness and to white people. The Huxtables had white friends.

- Rebecca Traister

Show, Friendly, About, Unequivocally

Scores of African-Americans have written both appreciatively and critically about what 'The Cosby Show' meant to them over the years.

- Rebecca Traister

Over, Meant, Scores, Critically

I wasn't remotely ambivalent about marrying the person I was marrying, but I was 35. I was deep into my adulthood, and I identified as single.

- Rebecca Traister

Deep, About, Ambivalent, Identified

In the nineteenth century, in part because a ton of American men moved west, in part because of the Civil War, and in part because of trepidation about marriage, which was then a very confining institution, there was a big population of women - mostly middle-class white women on the East Coast - who didn't marry.

- Rebecca Traister

Big, Very, Mostly, Confining

I think that technology - computers and smart phones and 24-hour availability - often leaves me, and others I know, feeling blank and depressed at the end of a day. I also believe that hyped expectations for raising children leaves many women and men feeling as if their days are a blur of carpools and play-groups and tutors.

- Rebecca Traister

Phones, I Think, Blank, Hyped

By the time Clinton graduated from Yale Law School, many people, including her boyfriend Bill, believed she could, and should, embark on a political career. She'd given the Wellesley commencement speech that had earned her a 'Life' write-up of her own.

- Rebecca Traister

Career, Own, By The Time, Embark

Our government and its social policies, its tax breaks, the way school days work, so much of the country we live in is built for married couples with a male breadwinner and a female domestic laborer. Government needs to be massively altered in order to serve this population.

- Rebecca Traister

Country, Policies, Serve, Massively

The lack of marriage is being blamed for almost every social ill - whether it's gun violence, whether it's poverty, whether it's the dropping birth rate.

- Rebecca Traister

Gun, Social, Almost, Blamed

There is a kind of woman who is economically powerful, professionally powerful, who threatens a white male grip on power that has a long historic precedent in the country. Independent women living outside of marriage threaten all kinds of things about the way power is supposed to work.

- Rebecca Traister

Woman, Independent, Country, Threatens

Camille Hanks, whose upper-middle-class parents both had college degrees, was a student at the University of Maryland planning on a teaching career when she met Bill Cosby, who was seven years her senior.

- Rebecca Traister

College, Career, Student, Cosby

In 1965, Cosby had become the first black man ever to star in a prime-time television show; he was conscious enough of his non-dissolved, traditional nuclear family that he made it the foundation of his public persona, his comedy act, and eventually of his blockbuster sitcom.

- Rebecca Traister

Show, Had, Eventually, Cosby

Though Hillary Rodham married Bill Clinton 11 years after Camille Hanks married Bill Cosby, and after having earned her own law degree, the terms of her marriage were also shaped in their own way by a presumption of a husband's centrality and a wife's subsidiary nature.

- Rebecca Traister

Own, Bill Clinton, Shaped, Cosby

One reason that we have collectively plugged our ears against a decade of dismal revelations about Bill Cosby is that he made lots of Americans feel good about two things we rarely have reason to feel good about: race and gender.

- Rebecca Traister

Gender, Reason, Decade, Cosby

White people loved 'The Cosby Show,' especially liberal white people. They loved it because it was a great, funny, well - written, and beautifully performed television show.

- Rebecca Traister

People, Television, Show, Cosby

Hillary Clinton must have been as aware as anyone that by entering the presidential race she was kicking off a long-awaited social experiment.

- Rebecca Traister

Race, Been, Social, Presidential

In 220 years of American presidential politics, there had been no serious female major party contenders, though women had been campaigning for the presidency since before they could vote, starting with Victoria Woodhull in 1872 and Belva Lockwood in 1884.

- Rebecca Traister

Politics, Been, Before, Presidential

When I say, 'The choice to not marry,' that doesn't always translate into, 'I am a woman, and I am deciding that I am not going to get married,' or 'I am rejecting marriage.'

- Rebecca Traister

Woman, Always, Rejecting, Get Married

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.