“You think what people say is what matters, an older friend told me long ago. You think it's all about words. Well, that's natural, isn't it? I'm a writer, I can float for hours on a word like "amethyst" or… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. Surely, I would tell G. at least once a week, it had to count for something that every single self-described Marxist state had turned into an economically backward dictatorship. Irrelevant, he would reply. The real Marxists weren’t the Leninists and Stalinists and Maoists—or the Trotskyists either, those… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share
One of the very important ideas of feminism for me has always been women helping and supporting each other. — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
funny how ready people are to believe that counseling, which even when voluntary takes years to modify garden-variety neuroses, can work wonders in months… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
Why must the woman apologize for not having a baby just because she happened to get pregnant? It's as if we think motherhood is… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
“Maybe I’m not cut out for monogamy,” G. had said to me early on. “Maybe I should just live in a room by myself and have girlfriends.” Another woman might have said, “Now, where did I put my coat?” Being a madly infatuated rationalist who had read her Simone de Beauvoir, I took a deep breath and carefully and calmly… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share
For many people, feminism is one of those words of which, as St. Augustine said about time, they know the meaning as long as… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
When it comes to ideas - and religions are, among other things, ideas - there is no right not to be offended. ... In… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
In a better world, science teachers would teach creationism along with evolution as an exercise in critical thinking. — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
We need to say that women have sex, have abortions, are at peace with the decision and move on with their lives. We need… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
“I’m a writer; I can float for hours on a word like “amethyst” or “broom” or the way so many words sound like what they are: “earth” so firm and basic, “air” so light, like a breath. You can’t imagine them the other way around: She plunged her hands into the rich brown air. Sometimes I think I would like… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share
A feminist is a person who answers 'yes' to the question 'Are women human?' Feminism is not about whether women are better than, worse… — Katha Pollitt Copy Share Image
