--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started giving talks about women's…" description: "\"When I started giving talks about women's history, one of the things that bothered me was the tendency to say, 'Well, everybody was totally oppressed a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/gail-collins-3567_about_when-i-started-giving-talks-about-women_2239689.png" --- # When I started giving talks about women's history, one of… ![“When I started giving talks about women's history, one of the things that bothered me was the tendency to say, 'Well, everybody was totally oppressed and suddenly in 1964 we rose up, got our freedom, and here we are.' It dismisses the women who fought for rights for several hundred years of our…” quote by Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/gail-collins-3567_about_when-i-started-giving-talks-about-women_2239689.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/gail-collins-3567_about_when-i-started-giving-talks-about-women_2239689.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/gail-collins-3567_about_when-i-started-giving-talks-about-women_2239689.png) > “When I started giving talks about women's history, one of the things that bothered me was the tendency to say, 'Well, everybody was totally oppressed and suddenly in 1964 we rose up, got our freedom, and here we are.' It dismisses the women who fought for rights for several hundred years of our history up to that point.” [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights that women's rights were fought for over centuries, not just after 1964, challenging oversimplified narratives. **In simple terms:** Women’s rights have a long history before 1964. Key Takeaway Recognize the long struggle for gender equality. Themes history gender equality activism Mood educational reflective Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom discussions - public lectures - policy debates - media analysis Key Concepts social movements historical continuity education Questions to Reflect On - How can we better teach the full timeline of women’s rights? - What are the risks of oversimplifying historical narratives? A Different Perspective Simplifying history can erase contributions of earlier activists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Bothered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bothered/) [Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Fought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fought/) [Fought Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fought-rights-314284/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Dismisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-dismisses-5073019/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got/) [Here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed/) [Oppressed Suddenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed-suddenly-5073018/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Several](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/several/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Suddenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suddenly/) [Talks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talks/) [Tendency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendency/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Totally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totally/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Women History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-history/) [Women'S History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-s-history/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Like their personal lives, women's history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/like-their-personal-lives-women-s-history-is-fragmented-interrupted-a/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [The most common characteristic of women's history is to be lost and discovered, lost again and rediscovered, lost once more and re-rediscovered - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-most-common-characteristic-of-women-s-history-is-to-be-lost-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [During Women's History Month, we celebrate milestones in gender equality, and we uplift the stories of women who have impacted our world with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-northam/during-women-s-history-month-we-celebrate-milestones-in-gender/) [Ralph Northam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-northam/) > [British women's history was never confined to the British mainland; and contesting the narrative around enfranchisement shows us that rights were not bestowed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/british-women-s-history-was-never-confined-to-the-british-mainland/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [“Because I write women’s history I rarely have the luxury of a full and fair biography to study. Until about 1960 there were very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/because-i-write-women-s-history-i-rarely-have-the-luxury-of-a-full/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [I'm slightly obsessed with women's history, so I'd love to talk to Emily Dickinson or Louisa May Alcott.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandi-toksvig/i-m-slightly-obsessed-with-women-s-history-so-i-d-love-to-talk-to/) [Sandi Toksvig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandi-toksvig/) > [History is no longer just a chronicle of kings and statesmen, of people who wielded power, but of ordinary women and men engaged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toshiko-kishida/history-is-no-longer-just-a-chronicle-of-kings-and-statesmen-of/) [Toshiko Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toshiko-kishida/) > [In 1975, which was the height of the women's movement, I thought I'd write a book on women's history. But in searching for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/in-1975-which-was-the-height-of-the-women-s-movement-i-thought-i-d/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [I think there has been a great deal of valuable revisionism in women's history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/i-think-there-has-been-a-great-deal-of-valuable-revisionism-in-women/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [“Yet some would say, why women's history at all? Surely men and women have always shared a world, and suffered together all its rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-miles/yet-some-would-say-why-women-s-history-at-all-surely-men-and-women/) [Rosalind Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-miles/) > [The effect on men has been very bad, too, of the omission of women's history, because men have been given the impression that they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/the-effect-on-men-has-been-very-bad-too-of-the-omission-of-women-s/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [When I started working on women's history about thirty years ago, the field did not exist. People didn't think that women had a history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/when-i-started-working-on-women-s-history-about-thirty-years-ago-the/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [It's a shame for women's history to be all about men--first boys, then other boys, then men men men. It reminds me of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/it-s-a-shame-for-women-s-history-to-be-all-about-men-first-boys-then/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Women's history is women's right-an essential, indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long range vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/women-s-history-is-women-s-right-an-essential-indispensable-heritage/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [Women's history is the primary tool for women's emancipation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/women-s-history-is-the-primary-tool-for-women-s-emancipation/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) ## More by Gail Collins > [The Bushes were certainly part of Texas in their mind, but they didn't have the kind of political flavor that you normally find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-bushes-were-certainly-part-of-texas-in-their-mind-but-they-didn-t/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [The work-family divide is the biggest issue for American women. But in some ways it's amazing how adjusted society has become to it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-work-family-divide-is-the-biggest-issue-for-american-women-but-in/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [I don't think the folks in the low-tax states really want to go into a fairness discussion. Residents of Connecticut and New York would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/i-don-t-think-the-folks-in-the-low-tax-states-really-want-to-go-into/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [I would walk a thousand miles To feel your hugs and see your smiles But then one day we had to part The hardest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/i-would-walk-a-thousand-miles-to-feel-your-hugs-and-see-your-smiles/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [“One law prohibited blacks from testifying against whites in court, and carefully defined “negro” as anyone who had one nonwhite grandparent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/one-law-prohibited-blacks-from-testifying-against-whites-in-court-and/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [“An estimated 400 women disguised themselves as men to fight in the Civil War. Many were like Amy Clarke, who enlisted so she could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/an-estimated-400-women-disguised-themselves-as-men-to-fight-in-the/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [Billy Jean King could not get credit when her husband was in law school and she was winning the Wimbledon, because he had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/billy-jean-king-could-not-get-credit-when-her-husband-was-in-law/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [Sarah Palin is treated like a bimbo sometimes, but she has never given the public the respect they deserve. She acts silly and doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/sarah-palin-is-treated-like-a-bimbo-sometimes-but-she-has-never-given/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [There's more student debt than credit card debt! Everywhere I go, I run into young people trying to build careers while they keep shelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/there-s-more-student-debt-than-credit-card-debt-everywhere-i-go-i-run/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [Women in America will have to find an answer for the pressures of work and family, but if you really care about women's issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/women-in-america-will-have-to-find-an-answer-for-the-pressures-of/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [The idea that 'if you don't like how things are going, you can just leave' is so ingrained in Texas, the secession movement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-idea-that-if-you-don-t-like-how-things-are-going-you-can-just/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [I admired the way McCain worked on campaign finance reform. I admired the way Nancy Pelosi stiffened the Democrats' spine during the health care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/i-admired-the-way-mccain-worked-on-campaign-finance-reform-i-admired/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [Some of our national heroines were defined by the fact that they never nested - they were peripatetic crusaders like Susan B. Anthony, Clara…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/some-of-our-national-heroines-were-defined-by-the-fact-that-they/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [When the women's movement began, it was a middle-class phenomenon. Certainly, black women had other stuff to think about in the '60s besides a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/when-the-women-s-movement-began-it-was-a-middle-class-phenomenon/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [Downplaying their faults is pretty much the point of campaigns. But we do count on them living with the constant terror of public rejection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/downplaying-their-faults-is-pretty-much-the-point-of-campaigns-but-we/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) [Explore all 127 Gail Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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