Backbone Quotes

“You, sir, are not only a selfish asshole, but you're a coward. You didn't have the balls to stand and fight for what was yours, instead you chose to flee and force others into a fight that wasn't even theirs to begin with.”
― Rose Wynters, My Wolf Cowboy

“A steely look of anger flared in my mother’s eyes, and I thought, just maybe, I was leaving her in good hands after all. Her own.”
― Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

“I heard you showed some backbone. I decided to visit in the vain hope that you might be turning interesting.”
― Kimberly Frost, Would-Be Witch

“Suppose I broke away and left you, or made it impossible for you to stay. That I was base and false; in every way unworthy of your love, and it was clearly right for you to go, what would you do then?'

'Go away and --'

He interrupted with a triumphant laugh, 'Die as heroines always do, tender slaves that they are.'

'No, live and forget you,' was the unexpected reply.”
― Louisa May Alcott, A Long Fatal Love Chase

“Women are the backbone of many structures. When you build women, you have built those structures. When you break them, you have broken those structures. That is why, women empowerment should never be taken for granted.”
― Gift Gugu Mona, Woman of Virtue: Power-Filled Quotes for a Powerful Woman

“Never play the princess when you can
be the queen:
rule the kingdom, swing a scepter,
wear a crown of gold.
Don’t dance in glass slippers,
crystal carving up your toes --
be a barefoot Amazon instead,
for those shoes will surely shatter on your feet.

Never wear only pink
when you can strut in crimson red,
sweat in heather grey, and
shimmer in sky blue,
claim the golden sun upon your hair.
Colors are for everyone,
boys and girls, men and women --
be a verdant garden, the landscape of Versailles,
not a pale primrose blindly pushed aside.


Chase green dragons and one-eyed zombies,
fierce and fiery toothy monsters,
not merely lazy butterflies,
sweet and slow on summer days.
For you can tame the most brutish beasts
with your wily wits and charm,
and lizard scales feel just as smooth
as gossamer insect wings.

Tramp muddy through the house in
a purple tutu and cowboy boots.
Have a tea party in your overalls.
Build a fort of birch branches,
a zoo of Legos, a rocketship of
Queen Anne chairs and coverlets,
first stop on the moon.


Dream of dinosaurs and baby dolls,
bold brontosaurus and bookish Belle,
not Barbie on the runway or
Disney damsels in distress --
you are much too strong to play
the simpering waif.

Don a baseball cap, dance with Daddy,
paint your toenails, climb a cottonwood.
Learn to speak with both your mind and heart.
For the ground beneath will hold you, dear --
know that you are free.
And never grow a wishbone, daughter,
where your backbone ought to be.”
― Clementine Paddleford

“What would you have done had I persisted in stealing the 'poor little girl'?'

'Gone overboard; I never yield to injustice if I can help it,' and Rosamond's resolute mouth and flashing eyes proved the truth of her words.”
― Louisa May Alcott, A Long Fatal Love Chase

“The avoidance of the real truth doesn’t nullify the problem, it multiplies it instead. Just grow a backbone and deal with it period because no one is going to do it for you.”
― Euginia Herlihy

“Women are the backbone of many structures. When you build women, you have built those structures. When you break them, you have broken those structures. That is why women empowerment should never be taken for granted.”
― Gift Gugu Mona, Woman of Virtue: Power-Filled Quotes for a Powerful Woman

“Enough with climbing the greasy pole of validation! Grab hold of your backbone, toughen up your conviction.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Honor He Wrote: 100 Sonnets For Humans Not Vegetables

“Never make a wishbone where your backbone ought to be. Sometimes we must leave things as we find them. And we should recognize that a fact is only a fact because all our wishing cannot make it otherwise.”
― P.B. Kerr, The Cobra King of Kathmandu

“I get awkwardly sturdy with a frigid liquid backbone. I get swept in the pressure cooker, tryin' to paddle back home...i'm gonna be a big bang, gotta be, never bottle me up in a probably...i huddle in a tunnel of big dreams, i think big things. I'm gonna burn w/ this little light of mine & a prime concern to earn thanks, I'm gonna be a Big Bang...' --Big Bang”
― Aesop Rock, The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow

“One heart, one brain, one backbone - that's all it takes to change the world.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“Don't force me to bend, you are not my backbone”
― Dr.P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar

“Good women are the backbone of countries, counties and communities. You can easily count on them.”
― Gift Gugu Mona, Woman of Virtue: Power-Filled Quotes for a Powerful Woman

“One thing that doesn't get burned with your dead body is your backbone, don't bend it for any dash, indeed a bone shall crack rather shall never bend”
― P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar

“Ushers are the backbone of events. Without them, a function can’t run smoothly.”
― Utibe Samuel Mbom, The Event Usher’s Handbook

“Tax is the backbone of the welfare society that maintains its system; take care of that before that gets weak.”
― Ehsan Sehgal

“Backbone not used to bear the world, is a backbone wasted.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Himalayan Sonneteer: 100 Sonnets of Unsubmission

“Pain is what nourishes the backbone, while absence of pain turns a human into haribo.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Himalayan Sonneteer: 100 Sonnets of Unsubmission

“It's one thing to have a spinal cord, another to have a backbone.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Himalayan Sonneteer: 100 Sonnets of Unsubmission

“When backbone becomes a relic,
and sentiments inconvenient,
it's not progress but the
beginning of doom and derangement.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“I am the person
beyond the paradigm,
I am but a reflection
of the best of humankind.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Every spine holds a backbone,
But peer pressure turns it into jello.
Every body holds a conscientious being,
But society conditions it to be callow.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Amor Apocalypse: Canım Sana İhtiyacım

“Better to get spine broken than bend it.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sapionova: 200 Limericks for Students

“Backbone is more than a stick to hang your head.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Rowdy Scientist: Handbook of Humanitarian Science

“Backbone responsible is antidote to malice.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yüz Şiirlerin Yüzüğü (Ring of 100 Poems, Bilingual Edition): 100 Turkish Poems with Translations

“One heart, one brain, one backbone -
that's all it takes to change the world.
When all three boil with vigor of life,
you can barely sit still avoiding effort.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“Backbone has no gender,
Backbone has no orientation.
Backbone is plainly human,
Backbone is brawn to ascension.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Tum Dunya Tek Millet: Greatest Country on Earth is Earth

“When the world cries blood, backbone oughta spark thunder.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Brit Actually: Nursery Rhymes of Reparations