I'm a storyteller who wants to tell untold, meaningful, universal stories in unforgettable ways. I want to do it all, study it all, and find my place in it.
Redefine what it means to be sexy and what it means to be a woman. Showing my skin is not what makes me sexy. I like skirts and dresses just like everyone else, but I had a message I needed to put out there. It was up to me to show people and young girls there was another way.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that femininity and sexiness can be redefined beyond traditional societal standards.
In this quote, Janelle Monae expresses her desire to challenge and expand the definitions of what it means to be a woman and to embody sexiness. She advocates for a broader understanding of femininity that is not solely tied to physical appearance but also includes individuality and self-expression. By sharing her message, she aims to inspire young girls and society to recognize the diverse ways in which women can be empowered and sexy without conforming to conventional norms.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a women's empowerment speech, one might use this quote to inspire self-acceptance.
More from Janelle Monae
All quotes →I have a great body, I really do. But I want to be taken seriously as an artist, and wearing anything that shows it off will be a distraction from the music. That's how my signature uniform, my tuxedo, came about. It's classic and timeless. You'll see me in black, white, and a pop of color on my lips. That pop adds a little magic.
Even if it makes others comfortable, I will LOVE who I am
I have not lost any of my crazy, fearless, raw, soulful, eclectic side and I plan on continuing to tell universal stories in an unforgettable way.
Perfection is often the enemy of greatness.
It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.
Similar quotes
'This thing I feel, I can't name it straight out but it seems important, do you feel it too?' — this sort of direct question is not for the squeamish. For one thing, it's perilously close to 'Do you like me? Please like me,' which you know quite well that 99% of all the interhuman manipulation and bullshit gamesmanship that goes on goes on precisely because the idea of saying this sort of thing straight out is regarded as somehow obscene.
He could not feel her near him in the darkness nor hear her voice touch his ear. He waited for some minutes listening. He could hear nothing: the night was perfectly silent. He listened again: perfectly silent. He felt that he was alone.
Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience.
People who are more isolated than they want to be from others find that they are less happy, their health declines earlier in midlife, their brain functioning declines sooner, and they live shorter lives than people who are not lonely.
To see queer people keeping each other down makes me so sad because I've been around for a long time - I've seen the people who came before us fight for what we have right now, and they did not fight like that for us to go backwards.
The key to staying together is making sure you guys like each other and need each other.