--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I was a feminist before the word…" description: "\"I think I was a feminist before the word was invented.\" — Isabel Allende" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/isabel-allende-266_feminism_i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word_1881151.jpg" --- # I think I was a feminist before the word was invented. ![“I think I was a feminist before the word was invented.” quote by Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/isabel-allende-266_feminism_i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word_1881151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/isabel-allende-266_feminism_i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word_1881151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/isabel-allende-266_feminism_i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word_1881151.jpg) > “I think I was a feminist before the word was invented.” [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She identifies with feminist ideals before the term existed, highlighting innate belief in gender equality. **In simple terms:** Feminist values can exist before naming them. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on equality without waiting for labels. Themes feminism identity history Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - activism - personal reflection Key Concepts gender equality personal conviction social movements Questions to Reflect On - Do you think labels help or hinder social progress? - How can we honor early advocates? A Different Perspective Labels may oversimplify complex identities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I think I was a feminist before the word was invented. By the time I came across feminist books by American or European writers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-denton/i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word-was-invented-by-the-time-i/) [Andrew Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-denton/) > [As far as I'm concerned, 'whom' is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-whom-is-a-word-that-was-invented-to-make/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [Well, I think I’m a feminist, just by the virtue of the fact that I believe in equal rights for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/well-i-think-i-m-a-feminist-just-by-the-virtue-of-the-fact-that-i/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [Naturally my stories are about women - I'm a woman. I don't know what the term is for men who write mostly about men.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/naturally-my-stories-are-about-women-i-m-a-woman-i-don-t-know-what/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Well, I don't think of myself as a feminist at all. As soon as we start labeling and categorizing ourselves and others, that's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/well-i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-feminist-at-all-as-soon-as-we-start/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I don't think that the feminist movement has done much for the characters of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-don-t-think-that-the-feminist-movement-has-done-much-for-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I think I was a feminist before being born. I had a feminist chromosome somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-being-born-i-had-a-feminist/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not yet understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/confusion-is-a-word-we-have-invented-for-an-order-which-is-not-yet/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/confusion-is-a-word-we-have-invented-for-an-order-which-is-not/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [KISS, n. A word invented by the poets as a rhyme for "bliss." It is supposed to signify, in a general way, some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/kiss-n-a-word-invented-by-the-poets-as-a-rhyme-for-bliss-it-is/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“I hope I’m being clear, I didn’t say I hate feminists, that would be weird. I said I hate feminist. I’m talking about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-hope-i-m-being-clear-i-didn-t-say-i-hate-feminists-that-would-be/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [The word 'feminist' is a word that discriminates, and I'm not into that. I don't think there has to be a separation in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shailene-woodley/the-word-feminist-is-a-word-that-discriminates-and-i-m-not-into-that/) [Shailene Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shailene-woodley/) > [Women can really be who they are. I'm about to say the F word, feminist. Often that word has such a negative connotation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kightlinger/women-can-really-be-who-they-are-i-m-about-to-say-the-f-word-feminist/) [Laura Kightlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kightlinger/) > [I try to encourage myself to act in a way that supports gender equality, and I call that feminist. Whatever word people want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-t-fagbenle/i-try-to-encourage-myself-to-act-in-a-way-that-supports-gender/) [O. T. Fagbenle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-t-fagbenle/) > [I think I am a feminist in that I believe in equal pay between men and women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/i-think-i-am-a-feminist-in-that-i-believe-in-equal-pay-between-men/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) ## More by Isabel Allende > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, and my grandchildren, my mother, my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-am-happier-when-i-love-than-when-i-am-loved-i-adore-my-husband-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Having a point to start is important. You know that when you decide to write something it's like a commitment. It's like falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/having-a-point-to-start-is-important-you-know-that-when-you-decide-to/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Everybody has losses - it's unavoidable in life. Sharing our pain is very healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/everybody-has-losses-it-s-unavoidable-in-life-sharing-our-pain-is/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“The writer and the dreamer have so much in common: They can't control the plot, they are always part of the story or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-writer-and-the-dreamer-have-so-much-in-common-they-can-t-control/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and-produce-the-great-american/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“He had a principle: if you lend money and never see the person again, that's money well spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/he-had-a-principle-if-you-lend-money-and-never-see-the-person-again/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Catholics form a majority in Chile, although there are more and more Evangelicals and Pentacostals who irritate everyone because they have a direct understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/catholics-form-a-majority-in-chile-although-there-are-more-and-more/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“At times I feel as if I had lived all this before and that I have already written these very words, but I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/at-times-i-feel-as-if-i-had-lived-all-this-before-and-that-i-have/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. So she says: 'No, no, no. You have to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-2011-i-announced-that-i-was-going-to-retire-and-my-agent-panicked/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I have lived with passion and in a hurry, trying to accomplish too many things. I never had time to think about my beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-have-lived-with-passion-and-in-a-hurry-trying-to-accomplish-too/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I'm surrounded by the scene of aging. I myself am in my 70s and not getting any younger. Although I'm very healthy, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-surrounded-by-the-scene-of-aging-i-myself-am-in-my-70s-and-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I try to write the kind of books I like to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-books-i-like-to-read/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Intimacy needs time to mature—a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It’s a slow-growing plant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/intimacy-needs-time-to-mature-a-shared-history-tears-shed-obstacles/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [ The idea of the book \["The Japanese Lover"\] came in a conversation that I had with a friend walking in the streets of New… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-idea-of-the-book-the-japanese-lover-came-in-a-conversation-that-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) [Explore all 552 Isabel Allende quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More Feminism quotes > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. 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The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/) [Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/) > [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/) Joseph Joffre > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Susan B. 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Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind [Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think I was a feminist before the word was invented.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isabel Allende" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word-was-invented/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feminism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word-was-invented/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/isabel-allende-266_feminism_i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word_1881151.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/isabel-allende-266_feminism_i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word_1881151.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/isabel-allende-266_feminism_i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word_1881151.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think I was a feminist before the word was invented.” — Isabel Allende", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Isabel Allende", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think I was a feminist...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word-was-invented/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-think-i-was-a-feminist-before-the-word-was-invented/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```