Any woman who still thinks marriage is a fifty-fifty proposition is only proving that she doesn't understand either men or percentages.

I know we're termites. But if all the termites got together, the house would fall down.

You've got to rattle your cage door. You've got to let them know that you're in there, and that you want out. Make noise. Cause trouble. You may not win right away, but you'll sure have a lot more fun.

Freedom is like taking a bath: You got to keep doing it every day.

A liberation struggle is like a struggle against dirt. No matter what type of bath you takein three weeks you'll smell like you've never seen a bathtub. What we don't understand about a liberation struggle is you never win it, any more than you "win" clean dishes. As soon as you eat on them, the dishes are dirty again.

When a system of oppression has become institutionaliz ed it is unnecessary for individuals to be oppressive

Horizontal hostility may be expressed in sibling rivalry or in competitive dueling which wrecks not only office tranquility or suburban domesticity but also some radical political groups and, it must be sadly said, some women's liberation groups. ... [it is] misdirected anger that rightly should be focused on the external causes of oppression.