It's not enough even to have one black Barbie... because black women are not a monolith.

And this whole period of time of gradually working at being a better guitar player and songwriter have gradually led me to the point where I feel I'm doing a clearer representation of the thing that...

As soon as you start looking into roles which are specifically Asian, Black, or Latina, you start looking at stereotypes. That's the issue minority actors face - it's not that we don't want to play...

I really learned that, when I got into television, I really learned the power, how deeply it affects people to see themselves on television, to see something that they can relate to, that they feel is...

I believe that young lesbian women need to see themselves on TV. They need to see the representation, especially young black lesbians.

I love a web series. But to me, it does the girl in Detroit a disservice who just watches television. It does a disservice to the girl on the south side of Chicago who doesn't go online.

I really want to be the black Tina Fey, where I just am able to produce my own content and produce other content for other minority filmmakers and put their voices on screen and basically be able to...

I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.

When I look for roles, I am looking for incredibly powerful women.

Consciousness, much like our feelings, is based on a representation of the body and how it changes when reacting to certain stimuli. Self-image would be unthinkable without this representation.

I think I really have 'Atypical' to thank for really teaching me about who I am.

Roles for women need to be better written.

Right now, black female artists are the most interesting people to think about. People are ready to hear whatever we're gonna say, and I'm not scared to say anything.

I think there's a stigma to some degree about the outer boroughs and Jersey, and whether their stories are worth telling.

The quality of films out there depends on how much responsibility we're willing to take. I try to play women who are positive and heroic.

People look to 'Dear White People' as an encyclopedia of our culture. But it's also art, and there are characters with different perspectives.

I do think it's well over-time to have a female Doctor Who. I think a gay, black female Doctor Who would be the best of all.

When I ask people what they think of when they hear the term 'cerebral palsy,' I usually get one of two responses. They either think of a smiling, crumpled child in a wheelchair on a poster or...

I knew nothing of American History because I didn't pay attention to American History in school. Because I did not see myself in American History in school.

As an actor, you read so many scripts and parts written for Asian-specific characters, and you see a lot of stereotypes and a lot of one-note characters, especially in comedy.

You're not working with models, you're working with real women who have, like, anatomy. Models do not have anatomy.

When I was in college, my graduation thesis was called 'Female Directors.' I interviewed all of the important female directors from Mexico. There were four. That was it.

I write books that I want to read. I write books that feature curvy heroines because I'm a curvy woman myself and it gets tiresome to read books about skinny women all the time. There's nothing wrong...

The literature of America should reflect the children of America.

The problem of self-loathing isn't new. What's new is the idea that it's the people with the history of greatest injustice who have the greatest right to be heard, and that the time has come for the...