Hold a Job, Chromosomes, Bella Abzug

“The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.” - Bella Abzug, three-term U.S. Congresswoman from New York, known both for the unconventional contents of her cranium and her penchant for placing ladylike chapeaux on it.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 55.

Not the Time, Feminists, Sidelines, Fignt On, Eleanor Smeal, Kathy Spillar

"This is not the time for feminists to sit on the sidelines. We must fight on. We have come too far and worked too hard to go back now.

"This is a call to action. If you have the ability, desire and drive to volunteer for your favorite feminist cause or organization, the time to do so is now. Clinics need escorts; nonprofits need volunteer researchers, event organizers, administrators, lawyers, artists, designers, computer techies and fundraisers. Everyone and every skill count. We all need your passion, encouragement, skills, commitment, financial support—big or small." Eleanor Smeal, Kathy Spillar, Ms. Magazine, from the special election issue's and blog's "This is a Call to Action".

Establishment, Little Men, Bella Abzug

"The establishment is made up of little men, very frightened." - Bella Abzug (Though there are a few great men, very brave, Bella may've had it on the mark, for the most part)

Found at Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bellaabzug388346.html.

Stood Up, Right Thing, Women, Children, State Sen. Katrina Shealy

“I stood up for the right thing. I stood up for women. I stood up for children. I stood up for South Carolina.” - State Sen. Katrina Shealy (R) after losing her reelction bid in June; she was one of three Republican “Sister Senators” who, along with two Democratic women, blocked a full abortion ban in South Carolina in 2023 – none of the three made it through their primaries.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2024, page 6.

Never Normalize, Tyranny, Patriarchy, Color, Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson

“We can never normalize the ending of democracy. We can never normalize the tyranny of the way that these people in positions of power are operating due to white supremacy and … the patriarchy. That is what we’re up against.” - Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson (D), On being expelled from the Legislature by the House’s Republican supermajority for joining a chant with gun violence protesters in the capitol in late March, following a mass shooting at a Nashville School three days prior. Found in Ms. Magazine page 6, Summer 2023.

“It might have to do with the color of our skin.” - Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson (d), answering why she was spared from expulsion from the Legislature while Reps. Pearson and Justin Jones (D) were not. Found in Ms. Magazine page 6, Summer 2023.

Make Life a Little Better, Meaningful Life, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"To make life a little better for people less fortunate than you, that's what I think a meaningful life is. One lives not just for oneself but for one's community." - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Found on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/19/politics/best-ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes-trnd/index.html.

Person of Color, Identify, Kamala Harris, Respect, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

“As a person of color, as a Black woman who is in this position … standing before you, … what you just read out to me is repulsive. … No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify. … Only she can speak to her experience. … It’s insulting for anybody, … and she is the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, and we have to put some respect on her name, period.” - White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, when told by a reporter that former President Donald Trump had just accused Harris of “turn[ing] Black”.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2024, page 6.

Beat the Machine, Political Power Structure, Bella Abzug

"I spend all day figuring out how to beat the machine and knock the crap out of the political power structure." - Bella Abzug

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bellaabzug688092.html.

Make Progress, Sidelines, Shirley Chisholm

“You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” - Shirley Chisholm

Found in Quotes for Nasty Women: Empowering Wisdom from Women Who Break the Rules, by Linda Picone, page 78.

Anything Beyond Herself, Validate Her Existence, Giving Away Her Power, Bell Hooks

“If any female feels she needs anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power.” - Bell Hooks

Found in The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, by Gloria Steinem, page 156.

Fear For Our Democracy, I Dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor

“With fear for our democracy, I dissent.” - Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s foreboding response to the Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. United States the presidents cannot be prosecuted for criminal actions related to their office..

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2024, page 6.

First Problem, Unlearn, Gloria Steinem

“The first problem for all of us, men and women is not to learn but to unlearn.” - Gloria Steinem

Found in The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, by Gloria Steinem, page 64.

Person, Trapped, Comedian Elayne Boosler

“I'm just a person trapped inside a woman's body.” - Comedian Elayne Boosler.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 33.

Mourn, Organize, Gloria Steinem

“We will not mourn. We will organize.” - Gloria Steinem, in the Special Elections 2016 issue of Ms. Magazine, page 11.

Be Still, Activity, Vibrantly Alive, Repose, Indira Gandhi

"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose." — Indira Gandhi, first female prime minister of India

Found on Beliefnet.com at http://www.beliefnet.com/quotes/inspiration/i/indira-gandhi/you-must-learn-to-be-still-in-the-midst-of-activit.aspx.

Non-Violence, Violence, Joan Baez

“Non-violence is a flop. The only bigger flop is violence.” - Joan Baez

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 127.

Service, Rent, Earth, Shirley Chisholm

“Service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth.” - Shirley Chisholm

Found at Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/shirleychi398068.html.

Win a War, Win an Earthquake, Jeanette Rankin

“You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.” - Jeanette Rankin

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 127.

Horrors, Real Ones, Stephen King

“We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.” ― Stephen King

Found on Goodreads. You can view it here.

Emotional, Stereotyping of Females, It's a Girl, Shirley Chisolm

"The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, 'It's a girl.'" - Shirley Chisholm

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/shirleychi101403.html.

Little Freedom, Free, Walter Cronkite

“There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free.” – Walter Cronkite

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/walter_cronkite_124506.

System of Oppression, Institutionalized, Florynce Kennedy

"When a system of oppression has become institutionalized it is unnecessary for individuals to be oppressive." - Florynce Kennedy

Found on Brainyquote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/florynce_kennedy_397337.

Because Women's Work, Never Done, Underpaid, Unpaid, Boring, Joyce Stevens

"Because women's work is never done and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or repetitious and we're the first to get fired and what we look like is more important than what we do and if we get raped it's our fault and if we get beaten we must have provoked it and if we raise our voices we're nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if we love women it's because we can't get a "real" man and if we ask our doctor too many questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we stand up for our rights we're aggressive and "unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical weak females and if we want to get married we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're unnatural and because we still can't get an adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk on the moon and if we can't cope or don't want a pregnancy we're made to feel guilty about abortion and...for lots of other reasons we are part of the women's liberation movement." - Author unknown, quoted in The Torch, 14 September 1987

I first read these words on a poster at Brigit Books in St. Petersburg, Florida. Brigit Books has long since closed (darn!). But I was able to find out that Joyce Stevens wrote the above quote as a Union Song for Women's Liberation Broadsheet, International Woman's Day, 1975.

Numerous links had this listed as "Author unknown, quoted in The Torch." While I was able to find links to several magazines and newsletters listed as The Torch, none of them were ones that had listed this quote. However, we now know who wrote these words.

Action, Antidote, Despair, Joan Baez

“Action is the antidote to despair.” - Joan Baez

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 20.

Two Kinds of People, Work, Credit, Indira Gandhi

“My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people – those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.” - Indira Gandhi

Found in The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, by Gloria Steinem, page 78.

Collect, Beautiful Shells, Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 144.

Cost, Libraries, Cheap, Ignorant Nation, Walter Cronkite,

“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.” ― Walter Cronkite

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/220528-whatever-the-cost-of-our-libraries-the-price-is-cheap.

Nation of Sheep, Government of Wolves, Defend Freedom, Edward R. Murrow

"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow

"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home." - Edward R. Murrow

Both of these can be found at Goodreads, specifically at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/178884.Edward_R_Murrow.

Fiction, Truth, Lie, Stephen King

“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” ― Stephen King

Found on GoodReads. Read more here.

No Judgments, No Compassion, Anne McCaffrey

“Make no judgments where you have no compassion.” - Anne McCaffrey

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 125.

Middle of the Road, Dangerous, Margaret Thatcher

"Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by traffic from both sides." - "'Iron Maiden' Margaret Thatcher, England's unswervingly Conservative PM," in Loose Cannons: Devastating Dish from the World's Wildest Women, compiled by Autumn Stephens.