WIST Quotations

Bible, Vol. 2. New Testament -- Galatians 3: 27–28 [JB (1966)]

Dave — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 16:54:33 +0000

All baptised in Christ, you have all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

[ὅσοι γὰρ εἰς Χριστὸν ἐβαπτίσθητε, Χριστὸν ἐνεδύσασθε. οὐκ ἔνι Ἰουδαῖος οὐδὲ Ἕλλην, οὐκ ἔνι δοῦλος οὐδὲ ἐλεύθερος, οὐκ ἔνι ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ· πάντες γὰρ ὑμεῖς εἷς ἐστε ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Galatians 3: 27–28 [JB (1966)]
(Source)

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
[KJV (1611)]

Every one of you that has been baptised has been clothed in Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female -- for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
[NJB (1985)]

You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.
[GNT (1992 ed.)]

All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
[CEB (2011)]

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Barrie, James -- Peter Pan, Act 5 (1904, pub. 1928)

Dave — Tue, 06 May 2025 16:28:09 +0000

MRS. DARLING: I thought all the fairies were dead.

WENDY: (almost reprovingly) No indeed! Their mothers drop the babies into the Never birds’ nests, all mixed up with the eggs, and the mauve fairies are boys and the white ones are girls, and there are some colours who don’t know what they are.

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
Peter Pan, Act 5 (1904, pub. 1928)
(Source)

In Barrie's 1911 novelization, Peter and Wendy, ch. 17 "When Wendy Grew Up," this is rendered:

“I thought all the fairies were dead,” Mrs. Darling said.
“There are always a lot of young ones,” explained Wendy, who was now quite an authority, “because you see when a new baby laughs for the first time a new fairy is born, and as there are always new babies there are always new fairies. They live in nests on the tops of trees; and the mauve ones are boys and the white ones are girls, and the blue ones are just little sillies who are not sure what they are.”

Barrie, James -- Peter Pan, Act 1 (1904, pub. 1928)

Dave — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:30:16 +0000

PETER: Wendy, one girl is worth more than twenty boys.

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and dramatist [James Matthew Barrie]
Peter Pan, Act 1 (1904, pub. 1928)
(Source)

In Barrie's novelization, Peter and Wendy, ch. 3 "Come Away, Come Away!" (1911), this is rendered:

"Wendy," he continued, in a voice that no woman has ever yet been able to resist, “Wendy, one girl is more use than twenty boys.”

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1733)

Dave — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 16:33:03 +0000

The proof of gold is fire, the proof of woman, gold; the proof of man, a woman.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1733)
(Source)

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 8 “De la Famille et de la Société, etc. [On the Family and Society],” ¶ 9 (1850 ed.) [tr. Collins (1928), ch. 7]

Dave — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 15:00:36 +0000

Only choose in marriage a woman whom you would choose as a friend if she were a man.

[Il faut ne choisir pour épouse que la femme qu’on choisirait pour ami, si elle était homme.]

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 8 “De la Famille et de la Société, etc. [On the Family and Society],” ¶ 9 (1850 ed.) [tr. Collins (1928), ch. 7]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

We should choose for a wife only the woman we should choose for a friend, were were she a man.
[tr. Calvert (1866), ch. 8]

One ought not to choose for a wife a woman whom one would not choose for a friend, were she a man.
[tr. Attwell (1896), ¶ 98]

One should only choose for a wife a woman whom one would choose for a friend, were she a man.
[tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 7, ¶ 4]

Do not choose for your wife any woman you would not choose as your friend if she were a man.
[tr. Auster (1983)], 1801]

Friedan, Betty -- Interview by David Sheff, Playboy (Sep 1992)

Dave — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 14:16:45 +0000

FRIEDAN: There was a masculine mystique, too.

PLAYBOY: What was it?

FRIEDAN: Men had to be supermen: stoic, responsible meal tickets. Dominance is a burden. Most men who are honest will admit that.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) American writer, feminist, activist
Interview by David Sheff, Playboy (Sep 1992)
(Source)

Reprinted in Janann Sherman, Interviews with Betty Friedan (2002).

Hertzberg, Hendrik -- “Obama and Gay Marriage: Runaway Bride?” New Yorker (30 Jun 2011)

Dave — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 16:14:20 +0000

Marriage should be between a spouse and a spouse, not a gender and a gender.

Hendrik Hertzberg (b. 1943) American journalist, editor, speech writer, political commentator
“Obama and Gay Marriage: Runaway Bride?” New Yorker (30 Jun 2011)
(Source)

DeGeneres, Ellen -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 24 May 2021 14:53:07 +0000

Asking who’s the “man” and who’s the “woman” in a same-sex relationship is like asking which chopstick is the fork.

Ellen DeGeneres (b. 1958) American comedian, actress, writer, producer
(Attributed)

Frequently attributed to DeGeneres, but no specific citation found. The phrase may have pre-existed and been popularized by her.

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

Dave — Thu, 07 May 2020 22:58:35 +0000

Male supremacy: Doctrine built upon three forms of superiority: the ability to grow a handlebar mustache, the ability to answer most of Nature’s calls efficiently, and the possession of pockets.

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

Bronte, Charlotte -- Jane Eyre, ch. 12 [Jane] (1847)

Dave — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 21:22:35 +0000

Women are supposed to be very calm generally; but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) British novelist [pseud. Currer Bell]
Jane Eyre, ch. 12 [Jane] (1847)
(Source)

Roosevelt, Eleanor -- If You Ask Me (1946)

Dave — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 13:10:49 +0000

No, I have never wanted to be a man. I have often wanted to be more effective as a woman, but I have never felt that trousers would do the trick!

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
If You Ask Me (1946)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 37, Unseen Academicals (2009)

Dave — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 12:21:41 +0000

“The female mind is certainly a devious one, my lord.”
Vetinari looked at his secretary in surprise. “Well, of course it is. It has to deal with the male one.”

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 37, Unseen Academicals (2009)

Adams, Abigail -- Letter to John Adams (31 Mar 1776)

Dave — Fri, 22 May 2015 15:08:09 +0000

And by the way, in the the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.

Abigail Adams (1744-1818) American correspondent, First Lady (1797-1801)
Letter to John Adams (31 Mar 1776)

Keillor, Garrison -- The Book of Guys (1993)

Dave — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 13:06:39 +0000

Girls … were allowed to play in the house … and boys were sent outdoors. … Boys ran around in the yard with toy guns going kksshh-kksshh, fighting wars for made-up reasons and arguing about who was dead, while girls stayed inside and played with dolls, creating complex family groups and learning how to solve problems through negotiation and roleplaying. Which gender is better equipped, on the whole, to live an adult life, would you guess?

Garrison Keillor (b. 1942) American entertainer, author
The Book of Guys (1993)

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).

Atwood, Margaret -- “Writing the Male Character,” Hagey Lecture, U. of Waterloo (9 Feb 1982)

Dave — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:45:21 +0000

“Why do men feel threatened by women?” I asked a male friend of mine. (I love that wonderful rhetorical device, “a male friend of mine.” It’s often used by female journalists when they want to say something particularly bitchy but don’t want to be held responsible for it themselves. It also lets people know that you do have male friends, that you aren’t one of those fire-breathing mythical monsters, The Radical Feminists, who walk around with little pairs of scissors and kick men in the shins if they open doors for you. “A male friend of mine” also gives — let us admit it — a certain weight to the opinions expressed.) So this male friend of mine, who does by the way exist, conveniently entered into the following dialogue. “I mean,” I said, “men are bigger, most of the time, they can run faster, strangle better, and they have on the average a lot more money and power.” “They’re afraid women will laugh at them,” he said. “Undercut their world view.” Then I asked some women students in a quickie poetry seminar I was giving, “Why do women feel threatened by men?” “They’re afraid of being killed,” they said.

Margaret Atwood (b. 1939) Canadian writer, literary critic, environmental activist
“Writing the Male Character,” Hagey Lecture, U. of Waterloo (9 Feb 1982)
(Source)

Published in a revised version as "Writing the Male Character," Second Words: Selected Critical Prose, 1960-1982 (1983).

Usually paraphrased, "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them."

Aristotle -- Politics [Πολιτικά], Book 1, ch. 5 / 1254b [tr. B. Jowett (1885)]

Dave — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 14:44:53 +0000

Again, the male is by nature superior, and the female inferior; and the one rules, and the other is ruled; this principle, of necessity, extends to all mankind.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Politics [Πολιτικά], Book 1, ch. 5 / 1254b [tr. B. Jowett (1885)]
(Source)

Aristotle is arguing that there is a natural distinction between the rulers and ruled, starting first with animals, then with sex. Alternate translations:

"Again, the relation of male to female is naturally that of superior and inferior, ruling and ruled, and the same kind of relation must necessarily exist in the case of all men generally." [tr. Bolland (1877)]
"So is it naturally with the male and the female; the one is superior, the other inferior; the one governs, the other is governed; and the same rule must necessarily hold good with respect to all mankind." [tr. Ellis (1912)]
"Again, as between the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject. And the same must also necessarily apply in the case of mankind as a whole." [tr. Rackham (1932)]
"Further, the relation of male to female is by nature a relation of superior to inferior and ruler to ruled. The same must of necessity hold in the case of human being generally." [tr. Lord (1984)]

Joubert, Joseph -- Pensées [Thoughts], 1797 entry [tr. Auster (1983)]

Dave — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:53:44 +0000

Sexes. One has the look of a wound, the other of something skinned.

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], 1797 entry [tr. Auster (1983)]
(Source)

I could not find an analog in other translations of the Pensées.

West, Rebecca -- Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Prologue (1941)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The word “idiot” comes from a Greek root meaning private person. Idiocy is the female defect: intent on their private lives, women follow their fate through a darkness deep as that cast by malformed cells in the brain. It is no worse than the male defect, which is lunacy: men are so obsessed by public affairs that they see the world as by moonlight, which shows the outlines of every object but not the details indicative of their nature.

Rebecca West (1892-1983) British author, journalist, literary critic, travel writer [pseud. for Cicily Isabel Fairfield]
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Prologue (1941)
(Source)

Sometimes oddly paraphrased, "The main difference between men and women is that men are lunatics and women are idiots."