--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One merely had to imagine a woman…" description: "\"“One merely had to imagine a woman candidate doing what Trump did, from lying to leering, to understand what latitude masculinity possesses. \"No advanc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/rebecca-solnit-569_last-year_one-merely-had-to-imagine-a-woman-candid_532210.png" --- # One merely had to imagine a woman candidate doing what… ![“One merely had to imagine a woman candidate doing what Trump did, from lying to leering, to understand what latitude masculinity possesses. "No advanced step take by women has been so bitterly contested as that of speaking in public," Susan B. Anthony said in 1900. "For nothing which they have…” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/rebecca-solnit-569_last-year_one-merely-had-to-imagine-a-woman-candid_532210.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/rebecca-solnit-569_last-year_one-merely-had-to-imagine-a-woman-candid_532210.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/rebecca-solnit-569_last-year_one-merely-had-to-imagine-a-woman-candid_532210.png) > ““One merely had to imagine a woman candidate doing what Trump did, from lying to leering, to understand what latitude masculinity possesses. "No advanced step take by women has been so bitterly contested as that of speaking in public," Susan B. Anthony said in 1900. "For nothing which they have attempted, not even to secure the suffrage, have they been so abused, condemned and antagonized." Or as Mary Beard put it last year, "We have never escaped a certain male cultural desire for women's silence.”” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical bias silences women; even when they speak, they face harsh backlash. **In simple terms:** Women’s voices are often suppressed. Key Takeaway Support and amplify women’s speech. Themes gender equality speech power dynamics Mood determined hopeful Type activist educational When to use this quote - public speaking workshops - media training - advocacy campaigns Key Concepts feminism social justice media representation Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect women speakers? - What structures reinforce silence? A Different Perspective Resistance can be met with backlash; safety concerns persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Speaking in public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking-in-public/) [Suffrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffrage/) ## Related quotes > [Donald Trump is doing well. Trump is shocking everybody. He's shocking the Democrats. He's shocking the Republicans. He's shocking world. Contrast what's happened here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-doing-well-trump-is-shocking-everybody-he-s-shocking/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Donald Trump is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement because he wants to lower environmental standards for American products and manufacture more cheaply. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/donald-trump-is-withdrawing-from-the-paris-climate-agreement-because/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [Leaders talk about gender equality but it is not seen during selection of candidates. They will talk about winnability and a woman candidate seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagma/leaders-talk-about-gender-equality-but-it-is-not-seen-during/) [Nagma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagma/) > [As a woman candidate myself, I know how important it was to be encouraged to run, to think outside of the box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-stefanik/as-a-woman-candidate-myself-i-know-how-important-it-was-to-be/) [Elise Stefanik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-stefanik/) > [Hillary Clinton should be president not because she's a woman but because she's the best for the job. I don't think that any woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/hillary-clinton-should-be-president-not-because-she-s-a-woman-but/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [There's going to be a demand for perfectionism on the part of Hillary Clinton, or any other pro-equality woman candidate, that would not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/there-s-going-to-be-a-demand-for-perfectionism-on-the-part-of-hillary/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I guess I don't have a candidate who makes my heart go pitter-patter the way I wish it would. I'm thinking, here's an African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-guess-i-don-t-have-a-candidate-who-makes-my-heart-go-pitter-patter/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [My greatest fear is speaking in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-love-hewitt/my-greatest-fear-is-speaking-in-public/) [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-love-hewitt/) > [Grasp the subject, the words will follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-elder/grasp-the-subject-the-words-will-follow/) [Cato the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-elder/) > [“ Environment The biochemical and genetic explanations for social anxiety are fairly straightforward. However, they don’t explain why one person fears all social situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-moehn/environment-the-biochemical-and-genetic-explanations-for-social/) [Heather Moehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-moehn/) > [I wanted to be a ballerina so badly. You can be seen and take over the spotlight without speaking. I had a fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-bowlby/i-wanted-to-be-a-ballerina-so-badly-you-can-be-seen-and-take-over-the/) [April Bowlby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-bowlby/) > [If you can't write your message in a sentence, you can't say it in an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-daniels-booher/if-you-can-t-write-your-message-in-a-sentence-you-can-t-say-it-in-an/) Dianna Daniels Booher > [Find out what's keeping them up nights and offer hope. Your theme must be an answer to their fears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-c-meyers/find-out-what-s-keeping-them-up-nights-and-offer-hope-your-theme-must/) Gerald C. Meyers > [“For years, she had a debilitating habit. She would sit on the bus on the way home from her lab creating a long list…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katty-kay/for-years-she-had-a-debilitating-habit-she-would-sit-on-the-bus-on/) [Katty Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katty-kay/) > [If you don't know what you want, you will probably never get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/if-you-don-t-know-what-you-want-you-will-probably-never-get-it/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put ourself in their story, or figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-love-someone-is-to-put-yourself-in-their-place-we-say-which-is-to/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I wonder now about Demeter and Persephone. Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More Last year quotes > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) M.I.A > [There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-martinez/there-were-times-last-year-when-people-looked-at-the-scoreboard-and/) Buck Martinez > [I never really look at it past one year. I look at last year and my whole goal is to be a better player…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-williams/i-never-really-look-at-it-past-one-year-i-look-at-last-year-and-my/) [Trent Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-williams/) > [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [So, in the last year, the whole cast sued for release from our contracts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-rettig/so-in-the-last-year-the-whole-cast-sued-for-release-from-our-contracts/) [Tommy Rettig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-rettig/) > [ \[Fighting for equality for women\] that's what my mission has been for the last years. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-broadwell/fighting-for-equality-for-women-that-s-what-my-mission-has-been-for/) [Paula Broadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-broadwell/) > [We have reached the point where we can lose a game or two and not drop out of sight in the rankings. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavell-edwards/we-have-reached-the-point-where-we-can-lose-a-game-or-two-and-not/) [LaVell Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavell-edwards/) > [Well, as you know, General Motors does not make hybrids. Ford only made 4,000 hybrids last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/well-as-you-know-general-motors-does-not-make-hybrids-ford-only-made/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) > [“The arbutus is now open everywhere in the woods and groves. How pleasant it is to meet the same flowers year after year! If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fenimore-cooper/the-arbutus-is-now-open-everywhere-in-the-woods-and-groves-how/) Susan Fenimore Cooper > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The terrorists who committed the 2003 Istanbul attacks were locals, that is, Turks. And when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered in the Netherlands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-schily/the-terrorists-who-committed-the-2003-istanbul-attacks-were-locals/) [Otto Schily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-schily/) > [“Leonardo believed his research had the potential to convert millions to a more spiritual life. Last year he categorically proved the existence of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/leonardo-believed-his-research-had-the-potential-to-convert-millions/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [As our initial click fraud research study showed last year, there is an obvious problem in the online advertising world. The challenge is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flint-mcglaughlin/as-our-initial-click-fraud-research-study-showed-last-year-there-is/) Flint McGlaughlin > [From '86 until the summer of last year, wherever I went, people would say, You would have made a great James Bond! Weren't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/from-86-until-the-summer-of-last-year-wherever-i-went-people-would/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [With the absence of a flu vaccination last year, I did not take a flu shot; but there is still some immunity that carries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-the-absence-of-a-flu-vaccination-last-year-i-did-not-take-a-flu/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 1,393 Last year quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One merely had to imagine a woman candidate doing what Trump did, from lying to leering, to understand what latitude masculinity possesses. \"No advanced step take by women has been so bitterly contested as that of speaking in public,\" Susan B. 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