a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle

a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
This remark is now widely attributed to the American feminist Gloria Steinem (born 1934), but seems to have originated as an anonymous graffito (see quot. 1979).

1979 N. REES Graffiti Lives OK 80 ‘A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.’ Penned as a Woman’s Lib slogan, this was met by the male response: ‘Yes, but who needs a stationary haddock\?’

2001 Times Literary Supplement 28 Dec. 8 Women may have decided they need men like a fish needs a bicycle, but the pram in the hall is with us still, ruthlessly demanding attention.


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  • woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle — Meaning A feminist slogan. Origin Often attributed to Gloria Steinem. Other claims for origination point to Flo (Florynce) Kennedy or to an anonymous author who painted the slogan on a wall at University of Wisconsin in 1969. Gloria Steinem had… …   Meaning and origin of phrases

  • fish quotations — an arbitrary selection follows and also includes proverbs, rhymes, fragments of show tunes, and ditties (as Q lacks piscine entries). Some other proverbs appear in the letter files: 1 Anaximander says that men were first produced in fishes, and… …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • man — see man cannot live by bread alone whatever man has done, man may do a man is as old as he feels, and a woman as old as she looks man is the measure of all things man proposes, God disposes man’s extremity is …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • woman — see a woman, a dog, and a walnut tree, the more you beat them the better they be a woman and a ship ever want mending a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle a woman’s place is in the home a woman’s work is never done …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • fish — see the fish always stinks from the head downwards fish and guests smell after three days there are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it all is fish that comes to the net better are small fish than an empty dish …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • bicycle — see a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, Thematic Index — absence absence makes the heart grow fonder he who is absent is always in the wrong the best of friends must part blue are the hills that are far away distance lends enchantment to the view out of sight, out of mind …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • female — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) The female sex Nouns 1. female, womankind, womanhood, femininity, muliebrity; fair sex, weaker sex; feminist, suffragist (see choice); women s liberation or movement, feminism, NOW; mommy track. See… …   English dictionary for students

  • Schizoid personality disorder — DiseaseDisorder infobox Name = Schizoid personality disorder ICD10 = ICD10|F|60|1|f|60 ICD9 = ICD9|301.20 |Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency… …   Wikipedia

  • Frau — Sprichwörter und sprichwörtliche Redensarten über Frauen entstammen zumeist männlich patriarchalischem Denken und sind darum nicht selten frauenfeindlich. In diesem Lexikon sind sie weniger unter dem Stichwort ›Frau‹ zu finden, als unter den… …   Das Wörterbuch der Idiome

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