Tracing Quotations
George Bernard Shaw? Gloria Steinem? W.H. Auden? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A style, jingle, gif, graffito, saying, or idea that rapidly mutates and propagates through a culture and achieves popularity is called a “meme” nowadays. The coinage of “meme” was based on “gene”, but a different biological metaphor was employed in the past. …
Continue reading “Fashions, After All, Are Only Induced Epidemics”
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? …
Continue reading “A Pedestal Is as Much a Prison as Any Small Space”
Gloria Steinem? Irina Dunn? Erica Jong? Florynce Kennedy? Charles S. Harris? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A famous feminist slogan asserts that a woman is capable of living a complete and independent life without a man. Here are two versions: A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle. A woman needs a …
Continue reading “A Woman Without a Man Is Like a Fish Without a Bicycle”
Dorothy Parker? George R. R. Martin? Frank Norris? Robert Louis Stevenson? Cornelia Otis Skinner? Clive Barnes? Jack Klugman? Gloria Steinem? Hedley Donovan? Dear Quote Investigator: Writing is an arduous task for many skilled authors. There is a popular family of sayings that contrasts the elation of accomplishment with the struggle of composition: 1) I hate …
Continue reading “Don’t Like to Write, But Like Having Written”
Gloria Steinem? Joe Klaas? Anne Kristine Stuart? David Icke? Bill Cosby? Erin Brockovich? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement is sometimes used as a rallying cry by activists: The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. The words are typically attributed to the feminist Gloria Steinem. Would you please …
Continue reading “The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off”
Florynce Kennedy? Gloria Steinem? Elderly Irish Taxicab Driver? Germaine Greer? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An incendiary quotation on the topic of abortion has an uncertain authorship. The following words have been attributed to both Florynce Kennedy and Gloria Steinem: If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament. Could you determine who said it …
Continue reading “If Men Could Get Pregnant, Abortion Would Be a Sacrament”