Art keeps one young, I think, because it keeps one perpetually a beginner, perpetually a child. Erica Jong More Quotes by Erica Jong More Quotes From Erica Jong Sex doesn't disappear, it just changes forms. Erica Jong disappearformsex My generation had Doris Day as a role model, then Gloria Steinem--then Princess Diana. We are the most confused generation. Erica Jong princessrole-modelsconfused You have to enjoy being a woman. Why should being a woman be such a negative thing where you always have to improve yourself? I have never in my entire life met a man who didn't want to go to bed with me because I was too fat. Erica Jong bedwantmen I think men have always been afraid of women's sexuality, and the restrictions they put on women testify to that. Erica Jong sexualitymenthinking There's another part of getting older that's just wonderful. Which is you see the way the stories turn out with peoples' lives. Erica Jong getting-olderstoriesway The only rule I have when writing is to try to tell the truth. That doesn't mean you can't exaggerate, edit, rewrite things to make them more dramatic. But emotional truth is what I look for in writing. Erica Jong emotionalwritingmean The absolute bedrock of our independence is having control over our own bodies. You cannot be independent if the government or someone else says whether or not you can use birth control. Unless you're in charge of your body, you're not in charge of anything. I think that's really the bottom line of feminism. Erica Jong independentgovernmentthinking It's useful to know how much society's holding you back. My mother would talk about how she was told by the head of her art school that she was the best painter, but that she wouldn't get the biggest prize because she would waste her talent by having children. I think we have to get honest with girls about how they can expect the world to block them, and we have to prepare girls, and ourselves, to break through those blocks. Erica Jong girlmotherart Not everybody has to be a parent. In fact, in an overpopulated world where our resources are shrinking, it would be wonderful if people who didn't want children felt free to say so. In the 1970s, there was more tolerance for the idea that not everybody needs to be a biological parent. Erica Jong childrenpeopleideas Feminism is really the right of women to be full human beings and to not be defined only by their childbearing function. Feminism is really the right of women to be human beings. That's it, yet that's so frightening to a lot of people. A full human being wants satisfying work and love. A full human being is entitled to both, and is not simply defined by only one aspect of her being. Erica Jong feminismwantpeople We don't have a clear path forward, and that's been the case for feminism since the 18th century, when the idea of the rights of women actually began. Erica Jong feminismrightsideas We've shown again and again, in every UN report on the status of women, that wherever women control their own bodies and have access to education, societies prosper. Men's fortunes go up, children's fortunes go up. This is not news - it's been proven repeatedly. Anywhere those things are threatened, we have to defend them. Erica Jong newsmenchildren I was surprised by my daughter's generation and how they were rebelling against the '70s idea that sex was perfect and it should be sought. Erica Jong daughtersexideas I've become more conservative about sex as I've gotten older. Erica Jong conservativesex I think I've become more cynical about sex. Meaning, I don't think sex in and of itself leads to an epiphany. Erica Jong cynicalsexthinking I think the Jews are an amazing group of people and their survival is amazing. Erica Jong survivalpeoplethinking I have enormous pride in the survival of the Jewish people, the cultural heritage of the Jewish people, but I'm not observant, and I don't belong to a synagogue. I don't go to temple on high holy days, but I'm proud to be Jewish. Erica Jong holy-dayspridepeople I don't believe in organized religion. I believe that people should try to connect with their own life force and let it lead them to do with their lives what they will find satisfying. Erica Jong tryingbelievepeople I prefer to work in the morning. I get up now at five in the morning. In the morning is when I feel freshest. Erica Jong get-upfeelsmorning Every time women make tremendous strides, the right wing gets terrified and creates laws making it hard to get an abortion or birth control. Erica Jong abortionlawwings
