In the matriarchy, which happens in a little microcosm across the blogosphere, we have these mini 'WOMEN in CONTROL' societies. And what I've NOTICED... is, under the guise of empowering women, they end up being real CRUEL. And I think, 'Jeez, here in my patriarchy, we wouldn't do that.'

'Playing like a GIRL' was used as a demeaning TERM instead of an empowering one. I am proud to be a girl and ROCKING the ICE.

It's great to engage with the mainstream media to get messages out, but the most empowering tool is to create RECORDS of our LIVES, and our own IMAGES, which are not filtered through judgements, BIASES, or misunderstandings.

I think there are a LOT of Republicans who RECOGNIZE that investment in adolescent girls and EMPOWERING them is GOOD for our foreign policy. When they're educated, they tend to GIVE back more to their communities, to rise out of poverty in a way that is good for their families and their communities and, ultimately, their countries.

My work in television is part of my MINISTRY. My ministry is not religious at all - it's part of my LIFE PURPOSE of empowering WOMEN.

There was something so empowering about having President OBAMA in office because I KNOW that for MANY of us, that's something that we never thought that we'd see in our LIFETIME.

Those 62 million girls who are not being educated around the world impact my life in Washington, D.C., in the UNITED STATES of America. Because if we aren't EMPOWERING and providing the SKILLS and the resources to half of our population, then we're not realizing our full potential as a SOCIETY, as mankind.

Terms such as 'microaggression,' describing an inadvertent ACT of offense, have ENTERED the college lexicon, empowering an atmosphere of prior restraint on speech. And many colleges are also disinviting speakers in fear of OFFENDING CERTAIN elements of their STUDENT communities.

The next wave of the social graph is EMPOWERING services LIKE Airbnb and Lyft that give people the CHANCE to have that physical INTERACTION. People are more open to that because of Airbnb. Airbnb took couch surfing and took an additional step.

The Underground Railroad, which was the first integrated civil RIGHTS MOVEMENT, is a part of our history that not a lot of us know about. And it's ACTUALLY a very empowering SIDE of our history.

I'm so proud of 'Underground' because it's this thriller; it's this ACTION- ADVENTURE. It's unexpected. PEOPLE THINK it's gonna one be one THING - they think it's gonna be very depressing and downtrodden - and it's empowering.

I trained in COMBAT, sword fighting, horse riding... It's empowering knowing that I can a BREAK MAN's NOSE with my elbow.

There's something about getting ONSTAGE in a play where the ACTOR tells the story, beginning, middle, and end, the way they want to tell it. For me, it's the most POWERFUL place to be, and it's the most empowering place to be.