A lot of my generation are living out the un-lived lives of our mothers.

I don't like debates anyway. I have never debated anyone, I think they're a very masculine form - like an intellectual prizefight. They let you know who the better debater is but they don't really tell you about the issue. It's all heat, but no light.

To punish the individual for the sins of the system makes no sense. We're responsible for changing it, yes. But we can't actually invent another universe, so we have to start where we are.

One of the things I understood from early on was that art was a symbol of systemic inequity.

Women are always saying,"We can do anything that men cando." But Men should be saying,"We can do anything that women can do.

In my own mind, I am still a fat brunette from Toledo, and I always will be.

I can only tell you the kind of power I want, which is the power to persuade. But I do not want the power to tell other people what to do. Persuade assumes that the other person is going to make the decision. Especially as a writer and an activist, I want the power to put ideas and possibilities out there, but I understand that they will only work if they are freely chosen, so I don't want the power to dictate or to force the choice, ever.