Women Wiser Than I: Jane Goodall

I’m done being the good girl, it’s time to be the difficult woman

“It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman, that’s why there are so many of us.” —Jane Goodall

Women are often labeled as “difficult” whenever they dare to challenge societal norms, express their intelligence, or assert their beliefs. A woman who insists on her own way of doing things is stubborn. A man who does the same is assertive. Goodall reclaims this label as a badge of honor for women who refuse to conform to traditional expectations—especially those of a patriarchal system—and instead strive for what is right, despite facing backlash.

As a scientist, Goodall defied adversity in a male-dominated field by using her quiet but mighty superpowers: empathy and patience. Her advocacy and activism have left a legacy that encourages other women to embrace their assertiveness and challenge boundaries.

Goodall didn’t wield aggression or noise to make waves. Instead, her compassion and persistence quietly reshaped a field that once refused to take her seriously. That’s the thing about so-called “difficult” women—they subvert the narrative and lead in ways the system never expects.

Difficult women get shit done. They are forces to be reckoned with. Being a demure doormat does not make you admirable—no one respects the thing they wipe their feet on. Being agreeable at the cost of your own voice doesn’t make you noble—it makes you invisible. Being the “good girl,” being palatable to the masses, never rocking the boat earns you nothing but a blocked throat chakra.

Goodall’s words and legacy remind me of a quote by author Joanne Clancy: “Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says, “Oh, no! She’s up!”

Goodall was such a woman.

I consider now the times in my life when I’ve been “difficult”: the articles I wrote for the school paper that I was warned would be too controversial—but I published anyway, the marches and protests I attended in New York and Washington, D.C., going face to face with a racist bully on a city bus (face to chest, really, as he towered over me by at least two feet), confronting the slumlord who thought he would get away with pocketing my deposit. Looking back, I am immensely proud of who I was in those moments, and also realize that I haven’t seen much of that woman around lately.

In honor of Goodall—and the woman I was before—I pledge to reclaim my difficult.

💭 Reflections / Journal Prompts

• Recall a time when you stayed quiet to avoid conflict or to be liked. What would you have said or done if you gave yourself full permission to speak up?

• What beliefs were you taught about what it means to be a “good girl”? How have those beliefs shaped your choices, voice, or sense of self?

• What would it look like for you to be more difficult in your life right now?
  Where are you currently being “palatable” when you’d rather be powerful?

• Who is a “difficult woman” you admire? What makes her stand out to you?
  How can you channel some of that energy in your own life?

In loving memory of Jane Goodall
April 3, 1934 - October 1, 2025