Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible,
and live long lives. The struggle for equality continues unabated,
and the woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage
will be among the first to celebrate victory. ~ Maya Angelou

Definitions

Feminism: noun
The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. ~ Merriam-Webster.com

Feminist: noun
A person who supports feminism, adjective – of, relating to, or supporting feminism; “feminist literature” – Google

Do They or Don’t They

The view many have of feminists, of which I am proudly one, is that they are man-hating, humorless, rather scary buzzkills. Of course, those who know, love and have one or more feminists in their lives know that emphatically is not true! Feminists are merely able to go from humorous to humorless faster than most people when they sense an injustice to their fellow woman — either in words or actions — and that is disconcerting to some.

Feminists most assuredly have a sense of humor; that’s not to say that some of the humor isn’t a bit dark.

To continue my tribute to women during National Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8), here are a baker’s dozen each of offerings for the humorous (Do Have’s) as well as the more serious (Don’t Have’s) sides of feminism:

Do Have’s

1. Once upon a time, a beautiful, independent, self-assured feminist princess happened upon a frog in a pond.  The frog said to the princess, “I was once a handsome prince until a very annoyed, vindictive witch cast a spell on me. But one kiss from you and I will turn back into a prince and then we can marry, move into the castle with my mother and you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children and forever feel happy doing so.” That night, while the princess dined on frogs legs (seasoned in a white wine and shallot cream sauce), she laughed to herself and thought, “I don’t (expletive deleted) think so!” ~ The Frog Prince, by Unknown, but this variation on a theme is by YT.
2. “Feminists don’t have a sense of humor,” Opening line of “Mother of Pearl”~ Performed by Nellie McKay
3. “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle” ~ Gloria Steinem
4. “Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.” ~ Bob Thaves, popularized by Anne Richards and Faith Whittlesey
5. “Women belong in the house…and the Senate.” ~ Unknown
6. “Behind every successful man there stands a surprised woman.” ~ Maryon Pearson
7. “I’m not going to vacuum ‘til Sears makes one you can ride on. ~ Roseanne Barr
8. “Life is like one big Mardi Gras but instead of showing your boobs show people your brain and if they like what they see you’ll have more beads than you’ll know what to do with.” ~ Ellen DeGeneres
9. “Obviously, as an adult I realize this girl-on-girl sabotage is the third worst kind of female behavior, right behind saying ‘like’ all the time and leaving your baby in a dumpster.” ~ Tina Fey
10. “The trouble with some women is they get all excited about nothing – and then they marry him.” ~ Cher
11. “The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” ~ Dorothy Parker
12. “As a woman I don’t imagine that I will ever get to feel safe in my lifetime…But, as a woman I am never going to stop trying. Even after, I plan to have my ashes rolled up a This Is What A Feminist Looks Like T-shirt and shot into space with a T-shirt cannon.” ~ Cameron Esposito
13. “I am a marvelous housekeeper.  Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.” ~ Zsa Zsa Gabor

Don’t Have’s

1. “I’m a feminist, but I think that romance has been taken away a bit for my generation. I think what people connect with in novels is this idea of an overpowering, encompassing love – and it being more important and special than anything and everything else.” ~ Emma Watson
2. “One thing I do believe as a feminist is that in order for us to have gender equality we have to stop making it a girl fight, and we have to stop being so interested in seeing girls trying to tear each other down. It has to be more about cheering each other on, as women.” ~ Taylor Swift
3. “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” ~ Malala Yousafzai
4. “Of course [I’m a feminist]. And everyone I know is a feminist.” ~ Chelsea Clinton
5. “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.” ~ Hillary Clinton
6. “There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women.” ~ Madeleine K. Albright
7. “It’s important to remember that feminism is no longer a group of organizations or leaders. It’s the expectations that parents have for their daughters, and their sons, too. It’s the way we talk about and treat one another. It’s who makes the money and who makes the compromises and who makes the dinner. It’s a state of mind. It’s the way we live now.” ~ Anna Quindlen
8. “We’ve got a generation now who were born with semiequality. They don’t know how it was before, so they think, this isn’t too bad. We’re working. We have our attache’ cases and our three piece suits. I get very disgusted with the younger generation of women. We had a torch to pass, and they are just sitting there. They don’t realize it can be taken away. Things are going to have to get worse before they join in fighting the battle.” ~ Erma Bombeck
9. “Does feminist mean large unpleasant person who’ll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings? To me it’s the latter, so I sign up.” ~ Margaret Atwood
10. “Feminism’s agenda is basic: It asks that women not be forced to “choose” between public justice and private happiness. It asks that women be free to define themselves — instead of having their identity defined for them, time and again, by their culture and their men.” ~ Susan Faludi
11.  “I’ve yet to be on a campus where most women weren’t worrying about some aspect of combining marriage, children and a career. I’ve yet to find one where many men were worrying about the same thing.” ~ Gloria Steinem
12. “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.” ~ Susan B. Anthony
13. “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

 Until next time,

Jeanne

Thanks to:

Wisdom Quotes   Identities.Mic   about education   Quote Garden    Ms. Blog