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There are those who say I’m impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I’m any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am — and this ought to be made very clear — I am a very serious woman.

Bella Abzug

When I was a young lawyer, working women wore hats. It was the only way they would take you seriously.
BELLA ABZUG

Hats Lawyer Way
I began wearing hats as a young lawyer because it helped me to establish my professional identity. Before that, whenever I was at a meeting, someone would ask me to get coffee.
BELLA ABZUG

Coffee Identity Meeting Someone
All the men on my staff can type.
BELLA ABZUG

Men Staff Type
Women will change the nature of power, rather than power changing the nature of women.
BELLA ABZUG

Changing Nature Power Women
The establishment is made up of little men, very frightened.
BELLA ABZUG

Littles Made Men
We are coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room.
BELLA ABZUG

Inspirational Motivational Women
She (a woman politician) will be challenging a system that is still wedded to militarism and that saves billions of dollars a year by underpaying women and using them as a reserve cheap labor supply
BELLA ABZUG

Challenges Dollars Years
Abortion doesn’t belong in the political arena. It’s a private right, like many other rights concerning the family.
BELLA ABZUG

Abortion Political Rights
The inside operation of Congress – the deals, the compromises, the selling out, the co-opting, the unprincipled manipulating, the self-serving career-building – is a story of such monumental decadence that I believe if people find out about it they will demand an end to it.
BELLA ABZUG

Believe Career Government
I prefer the word ‘homemaker’ because ‘housewife’ always implies that there may be a wife someplace else.
BELLA ABZUG

Funny Wife Women
We have done almost everything in pairs since Noah, except govern. And the world has suffered for it.
BELLA ABZUG

Done Feminism World
I’ve been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prize fighter, a man-hater, you name it. They call me Battling Bella, Mother Courage, and a Jewish mother with more complaints than Portnoy.
BELLA ABZUG

Men Mother Names
I am not elevating women to sainthood, nor am I suggesting that all women share the same views, or that all women are good and all men bad.
BELLA ABZUG

Men Sainthood Views
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.
BELLA ABZUG

Justice Memorable Struggle
the women’s movement, not only here in the U.S., but worldwide, is bigger and stronger than ever before and in places where it has never been. It has arms. It has legs. And most importantly, it has heads.
BELLA ABZUG

Legs Movement Stronger
Never go back, never apologize, and never forget we’re half the human race.
BELLA ABZUG

Apologizing Half Race

There are those who say I’m impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I’m any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am — and this ought to be made very clear — I am a very serious woman.

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There are those who say I’m impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I’m any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am — and this ought to be made very clear — I am a very serious woman.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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