--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: IT is an astonishing thing that…" description: "\"IT is an astonishing thing that historians will look back and puzzle over, that in the 21st century, American women were such hunted creatures. Even as..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/maureen-dowd-6927_21st-century_it-is-an-astonishing-thing-that-historia_2577746.jpg" --- # IT is an astonishing thing that historians will look back… ![“IT is an astonishing thing that historians will look back and puzzle over, that in the 21st century, American women were such hunted creatures. Even as Republicans try to wrestle women into chastity belts, the Vatican is trying to muzzle American nuns.” quote by Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/maureen-dowd-6927_21st-century_it-is-an-astonishing-thing-that-historia_2577746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/maureen-dowd-6927_21st-century_it-is-an-astonishing-thing-that-historia_2577746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/maureen-dowd-6927_21st-century_it-is-an-astonishing-thing-that-historia_2577746.jpg) > “IT is an astonishing thing that historians will look back and puzzle over, that in the 21st century, American women were such hunted creatures. Even as Republicans try to wrestle women into chastity belts, the Vatican is trying to muzzle American nuns.” [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical view of American women’s oppression and modern attempts to control them. **In simple terms:** Women face ongoing control. Key Takeaway Advocate for gender autonomy and awareness. Themes gender politics history Mood critical urgent Type analytical political When to use this quote - activism - policy - media Key Concepts feminism social control Questions to Reflect On - How have control mechanisms evolved? - What can protect women’s rights? A Different Perspective Complex political context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [21st century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/21st-century/) [American Nuns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-nuns-1750842/) [American woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-woman/) [American women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-women/) [Astonishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) [Belts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belts/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Chastity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chastity/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historian/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hunted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunted/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Muzzle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muzzle/) [Nun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nun/) [Nuns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuns/) [Puzzles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puzzles/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Women Chastity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-chastity-1750843/) [Women Hunted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-hunted-1044104/) ## Related quotes > [“The Men hunted money and sex. The women were hunted and captured, even the white women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-straight/the-men-hunted-money-and-sex-the-women-were-hunted-and-captured-even/) [Susan Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-straight/) > [“The harem could not be supervised by men because they posed a potential threat to the women’s chastity and the king’s bloodline. These women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-nordberg/the-harem-could-not-be-supervised-by-men-because-they-posed-a/) [Jenny Nordberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-nordberg/) > [Muzzle control has to be a religion. You cannot point that weapon at one of your brothers-or yourself. Know where you barrel is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-couch/muzzle-control-has-to-be-a-religion-you-cannot-point-that-weapon-at/) [Dick Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-couch/) > [You can say 'stop' or 'alto' or use any other word you think will work but I've found that a large bore muzzle pointed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/you-can-say-stop-or-alto-or-use-any-other-word-you-think-will-work/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [Morality, a muzzle for the will; logic, a climbing iron for the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/morality-a-muzzle-for-the-will-logic-a-climbing-iron-for-the-mind/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [Oh. Sorry about the muzzle. But it was necessary to protect you from your own stupidity. (Thorn)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/oh-sorry-about-the-muzzle-but-it-was-necessary-to-protect-you-from/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-hound-it-was-an-enormous-coal-black-hound-but-not-such-a-hound-as/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [As well have a talon as a finger, a muzzle as a mouth, as well have a hollow as a heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hayden/as-well-have-a-talon-as-a-finger-a-muzzle-as-a-mouth-as-well-have-a/) [Robert Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hayden/) > [She lifted the drooping muzzle with both hands...It was a special embrace saved for special occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-auel/she-lifted-the-drooping-muzzle-with-both-hands-it-was-a-special/) [Jean M. Auel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-auel/) > [Prussia: freedom of movement with a muzzle. Austria: an isolation cell in which screaming is allowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/prussia-freedom-of-movement-with-a-muzzle-austria-an-isolation-cell/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I walk up a dune to a beach and look out to sea, but it's 100km away. The ships lie askew in their dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/i-walk-up-a-dune-to-a-beach-and-look-out-to-sea-but-it-s-100km-away/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [“T = Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. A = Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. B = Be certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-behr/t-treat-every-firearm-as-if-it-is-loaded-a-always-point-the-muzzle-in/) [Gary Behr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-behr/) > [“You got a vicious animal inside you. It wants to snap, it wants to attack, but it's harmless because some woman fitted a muzzle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/you-got-a-vicious-animal-inside-you-it-wants-to-snap-it-wants-to/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper's bell of an approaching looter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/run-for-your-life-from-any-man-who-tells-you-that-money-is-evil-that/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [When her muzzle grew more white than brown, the chipmunk forgot that she and the squirrel had had nothing to talk about. She forgot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/when-her-muzzle-grew-more-white-than-brown-the-chipmunk-forgot-that/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## More by Maureen Dowd > [If there's one thing white men have never had a problem with in this clubby, white marble enclave of Washington, it's getting pulled up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/if-there-s-one-thing-white-men-have-never-had-a-problem-with-in-this/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [When you're young, and even at times when you're older, it's hard to fathom this: What needs to be nurtured is the stuff that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/when-you-re-young-and-even-at-times-when-you-re-older-it-s-hard-to/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [“Who knows? If women all end up with the same face and body, men may gravitate toward the quirky. Then the chicks with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/who-knows-if-women-all-end-up-with-the-same-face-and-body-men-may/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Why can't Google, which likes to see itself as a 'Don't Be Evil' benevolent force in society, just write us a big check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/why-can-t-google-which-likes-to-see-itself-as-a-don-t-be-evil/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [“Materialism has defeated feminism as well. In a sign of the times, Gloria Steinem was on the picket line when the first American DeBeers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/materialism-has-defeated-feminism-as-well-in-a-sign-of-the-times/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [“Romantic googling can be as dangerous as drunk text messaging. Of course hell hath no fury like a woman who Google-bombs her old flames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/romantic-googling-can-be-as-dangerous-as-drunk-text-messaging-of/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Paul Ryan, who teamed up with Akin in the House to sponsor harsh anti-abortion bills, may look young and hip and new generation, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/paul-ryan-who-teamed-up-with-akin-in-the-house-to-sponsor-harsh-anti/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Obama invented himself against all odds and repeated parental abandonment, and he worked hard to regiment his emotions. But now that can come across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/obama-invented-himself-against-all-odds-and-repeated-parental/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Feminism died in 1998 when Hillary allowed henchlings and Democrats to demonize Monica as an unbalanced stalker, and when Gloria Steinem defended Mr. Clinton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/feminism-died-in-1998-when-hillary-allowed-henchlings-and-democrats/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [President Obama thinks he can use emotion to bring pressure on Congress. But that's not how adults with power respond to things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/president-obama-thinks-he-can-use-emotion-to-bring-pressure-on/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [ Now that Hillary \[Clinton\] has won Pennsylvania, it will take a village to help Obama escape from the suffocating embrace of his rival. Certainly… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/now-that-hillary-clinton-has-won-pennsylvania-it-will-take-a-village/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [I don't understand men. I don't even understand what I don't understand about men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/i-don-t-understand-men-i-don-t-even-understand-what-i-don-t/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Good and evil are not like the Redskins and the Cowboys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/good-and-evil-are-not-like-the-redskins-and-the-cowboys/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [And as far as doing God's work, I think the bankers who took government money and then gave out obscene bonuses are the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/and-as-far-as-doing-god-s-work-i-think-the-bankers-who-took/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [It is men's worst fear, personally and professionally, that women will pin the sin on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/it-is-men-s-worst-fear-personally-and-professionally-that-women-will/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) [Explore all 96 Maureen Dowd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) ## More 21st century quotes > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [“You know it’s the 21st Century when someone TEXTS you from the washroom to ask you to bring them a roll of toilet paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/comic-strip-mama/you-know-it-s-the-21st-century-when-someone-texts-you-from-the/) [Comic Strip Mama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comic-strip-mama/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [Like many others, I have deep misgivings about the state of education in the United States. Too many of our students fail to graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/like-many-others-i-have-deep-misgivings-about-the-state-of-education/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Maybe we need a tax credit for the poorest Americans to buy a laptop. Now, maybe that's wrong, maybe that's expensive, maybe we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/maybe-we-need-a-tax-credit-for-the-poorest-americans-to-buy-a-laptop/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I firmly believe that the mission of religion in the 21st century must be to contribute concretely to the peaceful coexistence of humankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/i-firmly-believe-that-the-mission-of-religion-in-the-21st-century/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [Facebook, Twitter...Welcome to The 21st Century...Where Someone can stalk you without leaving the couch!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/facebook-twitter-welcome-to-the-21st-century-where-someone-can-stalk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Human Race is all over universe! And I am the first person to inform you. I am the most influential person of this decade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwani-kumar-ojha/human-race-is-all-over-universe-and-i-am-the-first-person-to-inform/) [Ashwani Kumar Ojha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwani-kumar-ojha/) > [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [What I love about making albums in the 21st century is that so few people buy albums! I can make an album without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/what-i-love-about-making-albums-in-the-21st-century-is-that-so-few/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/as-a-former-apollo-astronaut-i-think-it-s-safe-to-say-that-spacex-and/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [The computer provides the only way to give students a real foundation in 21st-century skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/the-computer-provides-the-only-way-to-give-students-a-real-foundation/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) [Browse all 771 21st century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/21st-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "IT is an astonishing thing that historians will look back and puzzle over, that in the 21st century, American women were such hunted creatures. 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