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O’Keeffe’s was a feminism of rugged individuality, which for her had been hard-won.—Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 29 May 2026 Her resilience is hard-won, sources say.—Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026 The progress earned by ethnic minorities and women in the armed services was hard-won.—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026 Davis is wry and quietly defiant of stereotype, her Elaine’s composure hard-won and her sacrifice of certain kinds of sympathy fully comprehensible.—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026 Hollingworth’s arrival at this joyful point was hard-won.—Aimee Cliff, Pitchfork, 16 Jan. 2026 Healing is slow, and every small moment of peace feels hard-won.—Brandi Hicken, Time, 12 Dec. 2025 The federal recognition was hard-won, having come after a wave of unrest among workers and labor activists put the issue of workers' rights into public view.—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2025 Traditionally, music making has required hard-won skills - the infamous 10,000 hours of practice - plus a certain amount of money to buy guitars, amps, computers, software and studio equipment.—Trevor Clawson, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025