Bella Abzug

“The test of whether or not you can hold a job should not be in the arrangement of your chromosomes”

“Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel. We are coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room. We want an equal share in government and we mean to get it. The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes. They used to give us a day--it was called International Women's Day. In 1975 they gave us a year, the Year of the Woman. Then from 1975 to 1985 they gave us a decade, the Decade of the Woman. I said at the time, who knows, if we behave they may let us into the whole thing. Well, we didn't behave and here we are.”

“I prefer the word "homemaker" because "housewife" always implies that there might be a wife someplace else. ”

“Politics will eventually be replaced by imagery. The politician will be only too happy to abdicate in favor of his image, because the image will be much more powerful than he could ever be.”

“Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over." -”

“Maybe we weren't at the Last Supper, but we're certainly going to be at the next one.”

“Women will change the nature of power, rather than power changing the nature of women.”