--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I became a feminist, when the…" description: "\"When I became a feminist, when the movement started in the late sixties, I started writing because I had something urgent to say. My first novel, Memoi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/alix-kates-shulman-19070_books_when-i-became-a-feminist-when-the-moveme_598682.jpg" --- # When I became a feminist, when the movement started in the… ![“When I became a feminist, when the movement started in the late sixties, I started writing because I had something urgent to say. My first novel, Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen, is the product of that urgency.” quote by Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/alix-kates-shulman-19070_books_when-i-became-a-feminist-when-the-moveme_598682.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/alix-kates-shulman-19070_books_when-i-became-a-feminist-when-the-moveme_598682.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/alix-kates-shulman-19070_books_when-i-became-a-feminist-when-the-moveme_598682.jpg) > “When I became a feminist, when the movement started in the late sixties, I started writing because I had something urgent to say. My first novel, Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen, is the product of that urgency.” [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She writes driven by a personal urgency sparked by feminist awakening in the 1960s. **In simple terms:** Urgent writing from feminist awakening. Key Takeaway Channel urgency into purposeful work. Themes feminism creative urgency personal voice Mood determined reflective Type inspirational personal When to use this quote - activist writing - personal memoir - public speaking Key Concepts social movements identity formation literary activism Questions to Reflect On - How does urgency shape your message? - What voices are you compelled to share? A Different Perspective Urgency may overlook craft refinement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Exes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exes/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Feminist movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist-movement/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Memoirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoirs/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Movement Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement-started-1267581/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Memoirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-memoirs-4884451/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Prom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prom/) [Prom queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prom-queen/) [Queens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queens/) [Sixty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixty/) [Started Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-writing/) [Urgency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgency/) [Urgent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgent/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I definitely believe in type casting. If you're a girl with bleach-blonde hair, everyone automatically thinks 'prom queen, cheerleader.' It just happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-scerbo/i-definitely-believe-in-type-casting-if-you-re-a-girl-with-bleach/) [Cassie Scerbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassie-scerbo/) > [Getting you a date to prom is so hard that the hypothetical idea itself is actually used to cut diamonds. Ben, getting you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/getting-you-a-date-to-prom-is-so-hard-that-the-hypothetical-idea-3/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Its like high school. You cant fuck the prom queen until she finds out her best friend jerked you off underneath the bleachers!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-gold/its-like-high-school-you-cant-fuck-the-prom-queen-until-she-finds-out/) [Ari Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-gold/) > [“And you are?” “Not important. All you need to know is that you’re lucky you’re so cute, and I decided to help you.” “But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-hahn/and-you-are-not-important-all-you-need-to-know-is-that-you-re-lucky/) [Chanda Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-hahn/) > [She is the prom queen I'm in the marching band She is a cheerleader I'm sitting in the stands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saving-jane/she-is-the-prom-queen-i-m-in-the-marching-band-she-is-a-cheerleader-i/) [Saving Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saving-jane/) > [“Miss Hunter leaned toward Stormy. “Well, as you also may know, ever since the year when Dylan Jackson was nominated for and won prom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zakour/miss-hunter-leaned-toward-stormy-well-as-you-also-may-know-ever-since/) [John Zakour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zakour/) > [“She wore a cantilevered, augmented-breast-skimming satin dress the colour of egg-yolk. Somewhere in deepest Nebraska, a prom queen two sizes smaller than Selena was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-mcgowan/she-wore-a-cantilevered-augmented-breast-skimming-satin-dress-the/) [Tabitha McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-mcgowan/) > [There's a big world out there. Bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won't matter if you were the prom queen or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/there-s-a-big-world-out-there-bigger-than-prom-bigger-than-high/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [On 'Dawson's Creek,' those kids were supposed to be outsider kids - you know, wrong-side-of-the-track kids, weirdo kids. And I just felt like there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thomas/on-dawson-s-creek-those-kids-were-supposed-to-be-outsider-kids-you/) [Rob Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thomas/) > [I wasn't the prom queen, in fact I didn't even go to my prom because they all turned me down. Of course you notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ford/i-wasn-t-the-prom-queen-in-fact-i-didn-t-even-go-to-my-prom-because/) [Faith Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ford/) > [I wasn't a cheerleader or the prom queen. I don't move through the world with a mirror in front of my face, and I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-michele/i-wasn-t-a-cheerleader-or-the-prom-queen-i-don-t-move-through-the/) [Michael Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-michele/) > [I had a fun blast at my prom on May 16, 2014. the prom was spectacular. I was very happy when my good friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare/i-had-a-fun-blast-at-my-prom-on-may-16-2014-the-prom-was-spectacular/) [Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare/) > [“The politics at Max's were very similar to high school, except the popular people were not the cheerleaders or football heroes and the prom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/the-politics-at-max-s-were-very-similar-to-high-school-except-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'll take being on Baywatch over being Prom Queen any day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brande-roderick/i-ll-take-being-on-baywatch-over-being-prom-queen-any-day/) [Brande Roderick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brande-roderick/) > [You don't know who the next group is that's unpopular. The Bill of Rights isn't for the prom queen. The bill of rights isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/you-don-t-know-who-the-next-group-is-that-s-unpopular-the-bill-of/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) ## More by Alix Kates Shulman > [Within walking distance of any spot on Earth there's probably more than enough mystery to investigate in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/within-walking-distance-of-any-spot-on-earth-there-s-probably-more/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [It's always difficult to write honestly of one's deepest feelings, particularly without the protective veil of fiction. But the more difficult, the more rewarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/it-s-always-difficult-to-write-honestly-of-one-s-deepest-feelings/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Ever since Freud, being alone has been considered something of a psychological failure. The point, according to Freudian theory, is to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/ever-since-freud-being-alone-has-been-considered-something-of-a/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [“His cup of tea did not include the dregs, though the dregs are the tea. His brew was nothing but vapor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/his-cup-of-tea-did-not-include-the-dregs-though-the-dregs-are-the-tea/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Solitude offers a lot that being coupled or being in a group does not. It helps us learn what we are capable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/solitude-offers-a-lot-that-being-coupled-or-being-in-a-group-does-not/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Being alone for a woman is probably much more scary than for a man. I'm all for getting over our fears by facing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/being-alone-for-a-woman-is-probably-much-more-scary-than-for-a-man-i/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I think you get mentally ill being homeless. Most of the bag ladies wind up mentally ill pretty quickly - what people would call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-think-you-get-mentally-ill-being-homeless-most-of-the-bag-ladies/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I don't really think myself that sex work is necessarily more demeaning than other kinds of demeaning work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-work-is-necessarily-more/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [For many decades my relations with my parents constituted unfinished business. I had dealt with them through sheer avoidance and guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/for-many-decades-my-relations-with-my-parents-constituted-unfinished/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [The movement for women's liberation was about an emotional transformation, an explosion, a feeling all over the country that things must be different, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/the-movement-for-women-s-liberation-was-about-an-emotional/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I am a feminist. I'm trying to show the relationships between men and women, always the structural relations, not individual villains. I'd never make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-am-a-feminist-i-m-trying-to-show-the-relationships-between-men-and/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I did not intend to be a writer. I first wanted to be a lawyer, like my father. Then I got bit by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-did-not-intend-to-be-a-writer-i-first-wanted-to-be-a-lawyer-like-my/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Fiction is ideally suited to re-creating the important emotional aspects of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/fiction-is-ideally-suited-to-re-creating-the-important-emotional/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I am not a psychological novelist, and I try very hard not to allow the reader to see the plight or circumstances of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-am-not-a-psychological-novelist-and-i-try-very-hard-not-to-allow/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Sexism goes so deep that at first it's hard to see; you think it's just reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/sexism-goes-so-deep-that-at-first-it-s-hard-to-see-you-think-it-s/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) [Explore all 33 Alix Kates Shulman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I became a feminist, when the movement started in the late sixties, I started writing because I had something urgent to say. 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