Assertion Quote by Mary Ritter Beard
“Despite the modern dogma to the effect that women were a subject sex until the nineteenth century 'emancipated' them from history, women in history had demonstrated strong wills and purposes, had made assertions, and had directed or influenced all human destiny, including their own, since human life began.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Woman and Socialism, Mary Ritter Beard, 1934
Women have always shaped history with agency and purpose, contrary to the claim they were passive until recent emancipation.
In simple terms: Women have always been active in history.
Key Takeaway
Recognize women's historical agency.
Themes
gender equality
history
agency
empowerment
Mood
reflective
determined
Type
analytical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- education curricula
- media representation
- policy making
- public discourse
Key Concepts
feminist theory
social history
Questions to Reflect On
- How have historical narratives marginalized women's contributions?
- What evidence challenges the notion of women as passive subjects?
A Different Perspective
The claim overlooks varied cultural contexts where women's roles differed.
![“To ignore [the] great social facts -- political facts, if you please -- and over-emphasize the old moral responsibility of the 'domestic' mother is a hollow mockery and betrays a hopeless ignorance of industrial and urban conditions in the Twentieth Century. ... Everything that counts in the…” quote by Mary Ritter Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/598/mary-ritter-beard-20226_betray_to-ignore-the-great-social-facts-politic_596334.jpg)
