Gloria Steinem? Joe King? Anonymous Black Feminist?
Dear Quote Investigator: Being placed on a pedestal has a serious drawback according to the following astute metaphorical amplification:
A pedestal is a prison, like any other small space.
Would you please explore the provenance of this expression which is often attributed to the prominent feminist Gloria Steinem?
Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in an advertisement for a realty company written by Joe King and published in “The Yuma Daily Sun” of Yuma, Arizona in September 1974. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1974 September 13, The Yuma Daily Sun, Time To Smile by Joe King (Advertisement for Paustell Realty), Quote Page 19, Column 8, Yuma, Arizona. (Newspapers_com)[/ref]
The man who didn’t want his wife to work has been succeeded by the man who asks about her chances of getting a raise . . .
A pedestal is as much a prison as any small space . . .
Do you feel like you’re in prison?
Kids growing up and cramped for space?
Really put your wife on a pedestal — let HER pick out a larger house.
The advertisement contained other commonplace observations:
You can’t expect a person to see eye to eye with you when you’re looking down on him . . .
You can’t spend yourself rich any more than you can drink yourself sober . . .
Thus, QI conjectures that the saying about pedestals was already in circulation with an anonymous ascription.
In March 1976 a columnist in a Dubois, Pennsylvania newspaper credited Gloria Steinem with the remark:[ref] 1976 March 11, The Courier-Express, Daisies Won’t Tell BUT I Will! by Bess K. Martin (C-E Staff Writer), Quote Page 5, Column 7, Dubois, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com)[/ref]
A Thought: A pedestal is as much a prison as any small space. (Gloria Steinem)
Steinem used the saying during interviews and within articles, but she disclaimed authorship as shown below via selected citations in chronological order.
Continue reading “A Pedestal Is as Much a Prison as Any Small Space”