9 Feminist Quotes Celebrating Friendship

It's no secret that pretty much every aspect of pop culture is dominated by the search for True Love -- it's far easier to find romantic content than, say, feminist quotes about friendship. Romance is often seen as the end game for most relationships: "You can always make new friends," we're told, "but a romantic partner will complete you." This is especially true of women, who still face an enormous amount of societal pressure to shape their lives around future husbands and children.

However, as young people wait longer to get marries or form long-term partnerships, they're spending more years on their own, which means more time turning to platonic relationships for emotional fulfillment. Although they certainly get their fair share of appreciation, friendships are having a bit of a Moment-with-a-capital-M lately — especially friendships between women. This may be traced in part to the current popularization of the feminist movement; with public figures like Taylor Swift and Amy Poehler openly emphasizing the need to support other women, it seems pop culture is finally taking note of the importance of relationships that don't end in romance.

And so, without further ado, let's enjoy a combination of two of my favorite things: Feminism and lady friendships. Whether you and your bestie are just like Ann Perkins and Leslie Knope or more of a Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek — or even if you don't rank your friends in that way — the following feminist quotes are basically guaranteed to give you the warm and fuzzies.

1. "Girls get competitive, as though there’s only one spot in the world for everything — but that’s not true. We need to stick together and see there’s more to life than pleasing men. It’s important not to cut yourself off from female friendships. I think sometimes girls get scared of other girls, but you need each other."

— Zooey Deschanel, American actress and musician

2. "Female friendship has been the bedrock of women’s lives for as long as there have been women."

— Rebecca Traister, American author

3. "There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature."

— Jane Austen, British novelist

4. "Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend."

— Sarah Dessen, American author

5. "Friendship between women is different than friendship between men. ... It’s my women friends that keep starch in my spine and without them, I don’t know where I would be."

— Jane Fonda, American actress, model, and fitness guru

6. "I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light."

— Helen Keller, American author and activist

7. "I think about my best friendship... as like a great romance of my young life."

— Lena Dunham, American actress and writer

8. "I feel there's so much pressure, especially for women, to declare what their life's going to be and what their career is, and are you married yet? Are you single? But you're 30. And girlfriends are so important. You can have a boyfriend or husband when you're 30, but you still need your girlfriends."

— Kristen Wiig, American comedian

9. "I love my husband, but it is nothing like a conversation with a woman that understands you. I grow so much from those conversations."

— Beyonce, American musician and actress

Image: Greg Raines/Unsplash, Wikimedia Commons