WIST Quotations

West, Rebecca -- “Mr. Chesterton in Hysterics,” The Clarion (14 Nov 1913)

Dave — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 14:07:51 +0000

I myself have never been able to find out what feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.

Rebecca West (1892-1983) British author, journalist, literary critic, travel writer [pseud. for Cicily Isabel Fairfield]
“Mr. Chesterton in Hysterics,” The Clarion (14 Nov 1913)
(Source)

Shear, Marie -- “Media Watch: Celebrating Women’s Words,” New Directions for Women (May/Jun 1986)

Dave — Thu, 14 May 2020 21:12:10 +0000

Lesbian: Any uppity woman, regardless of sexual preference. If they don’t call you a lesbian, you’re probably not accomplishing anything.

Marie Shear (1940-2017) American writer and feminist activist
“Media Watch: Celebrating Women’s Words,” New Directions for Women (May/Jun 1986)
(Source)

Sanger, Margaret -- “The Case for Birth Control” Physical Culture (Apr 1917)

Dave — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:18:17 +0000

No woman can call herself free who cannot choose the time to be a mother or not as she sees fit.

Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) American birth control activist, sex educator, nurse
“The Case for Birth Control” Physical Culture (Apr 1917)

Anthony, Susan B. -- Letter to the editor of “Sidepath” magazine (1898)

Dave — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 13:37:49 +0000

I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of freedom, self-reliance and independence. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can’t get into harm while she is on her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) American reformer, aboltionist, sufferagist
Letter to the editor of “Sidepath” magazine (1898)

Sayers, Dorothy -- “The Human-Not-Quite-Human,” Unpopular Opinions (1947)

Dave — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 13:25:06 +0000

Probably no man has ever troubled to imagine how strange his life would appear to himself if it were unrelentingly assessed in terms of his maleness; if everything he wore, said, or did had to be justified by reference to female approval; if he were compelled to regard himself, day in and day out, not as a member of society, but merely (salvâ reverentiâ) as a virile member of society.

Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957) English author, translator
“The Human-Not-Quite-Human,” Unpopular Opinions (1947)
(Source)

Reprinted in her Are Women Human? (1971).