"There's a difference between wanting to be respected and being a strong female and being known for being able to do things, but still very much wanting guys to open the door, wanting them to ask us out, still bringing flowers and stuff like that"
About this Quote
The subtext is early-2000s gender politics, when post-feminist pop culture sold empowerment as a brand while punishing women for asking for anything that looked traditional. Hewitt's examples are deliberately small and cinematic: doors, dates, flowers. They're not policy; they're symbols. She isn't arguing for dependence so much as for choreography - a desire to be competent in public and cherished in private, without having to apologize for either.
Her wording also reveals the tightrope. "Guys" and "us" signals heteronormative assumptions, and "being known" hints at celebrity pressure: women are reduced to a single headline trait, "strong" or "girly", as if complexity is bad PR. In that light, the quote reads like a defense of agency disguised as nostalgia. She wants the right to choose courtesy without it being mistaken for submission, and to demand respect without being cast as unromantic or intimidating.
Quote Details
| Topic | Romantic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hewitt, Jennifer Love. (2026, January 16). There's a difference between wanting to be respected and being a strong female and being known for being able to do things, but still very much wanting guys to open the door, wanting them to ask us out, still bringing flowers and stuff like that. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-a-difference-between-wanting-to-be-102389/
Chicago Style
Hewitt, Jennifer Love. "There's a difference between wanting to be respected and being a strong female and being known for being able to do things, but still very much wanting guys to open the door, wanting them to ask us out, still bringing flowers and stuff like that." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-a-difference-between-wanting-to-be-102389/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There's a difference between wanting to be respected and being a strong female and being known for being able to do things, but still very much wanting guys to open the door, wanting them to ask us out, still bringing flowers and stuff like that." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-a-difference-between-wanting-to-be-102389/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.








