Quote Of The Day By Joan Jett: 'Other People Will Call Me A Rebel ...'

If anyone has had a hand in smashing rock 'n' roll's glass ceiling, it's Joan Jett. Preferring to shrug off labels like the "Godmother of Punk" and the "Original Riot grrl," Jett blasted through with iconic '70s all-girl glam band the Runaways. With each guitar riff, each song, each howl, and each growl, Jett showed the boys how it's done.

Born Joan Larkin in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, in 1958, Jett started playing guitar in her early teens, soon after relocating to Los Angeles with her family. By 1976, she was lead guitarist of the Runaways, touring the globe while gaining hard rock and punk credibility with the hit "Cherry Bomb." But their run was short, and by early 1979, it was over for the Runaways. 

However, Jett didn't quit. When she was having trouble scoring a deal for American distribution of her debut self-titled album, she created her own label. It worked out, and after forming Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Jett scored her biggest hit with "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. She's never stopped; as of mid-2026, she's slated to head back out on tour after a string of dates in the U.S. and Europe. 

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, she's a rock 'n' roll lifer and an inspiration to generations of musicians of all genders. Sit down, turn the volume up to 11, and get ready; Joan Jett is our quote of the day.

"Other people will call me a rebel, but I just feel like I'm living my life and doing what I want to do. Sometimes people call that rebellion, especially when you're a woman."

This comes from an interview with Reuters in 2010, published shortly after the Sundance Film Festival debut of the biopic "The Runaways." Journalist Bob Tourtellotte asked Joan Jett whether she still felt like she was a rebel.

She went on to highlight a key double standard in our society: "A guy knowing what he wants is a leader," she said, while ambitious or powerful women are scorned. As a woman in rock 'n' roll — as one of its queens — she took heat simply for being herself.

Joan Jett has become an icon, but it wasn't an easy road, and one of the biggest challenges was that she had to break into a boys' club. Sexist attitudes kept male fans, musicians, and industry professionals from taking the Runaways seriously, and her early struggles to score a record deal as a solo artist often boiled down to her tough girl-with-an-electric-guitar image and sound being unpalatable to many record executives. And yet, those are the very attributes that make her so enduring and legendary.

When Jett broke through, she was immediately pegged as a rebel. She's always had an anti-authoritarian attitude, with a gender-challenging look and punk swagger that is about as far away from traditional notions of femininity as you can get. Jett makes the point that this is just who she is, and she isn't too worried about what others think. However, she also makes clear that the biggest reason she's scary or intimidating is that she's a woman stepping out of the role society has laid out for her.

Ultimately, she's making the case for being your authentic self and not worrying too much about what others think. Be true to yourself while remembering that you can't control how you'll be viewed, especially if you're a woman or girl pursuing your dreams. People may not like you, they might challenge you or try to stop you, but as long as you know who you are and how powerful you can be, you're on the right track. Be fierce, fearless, and don't sell yourself short; be a rock star like Jett.

• "It's about breaking down barriers. It's about doing what you want to do. It's about not being told to take a certain role in life because that's what's expected." 

• "I'm proud of my bad reputation, if that's what it is — making people uncomfortable because you're not used to seeing women do this or that." 

• "It goes back to that thing about not being bullied, not being told what to do. In fact, if you tell me what to do, I'm gonna put up a wall just because you tell me to do it." 

• "Maybe it's my parents' fault for telling me when I was five, 'You can be anything you want' ... Other girls can give up. I get it. People can be rude. But I feel like I was in it for life." 

• "Be cool about what you want, and sometimes that's hard to do ... because when the fun stops, then you're going to stop. But if you're really serious, you're going to fight for it." 

• "You got to find like-minded people who are going to share in your vision ... It's about the connection, locking eyes with somebody, smiling and having that moment together in music. And those are the moments that make me want to do it." 

• "When I speak to women and girls pursuing their dreams ... there's that hard glass ceiling. It's still there. But we have good PR, so we feel like we've come farther than we really have."