{"id":3423,"date":"2022-07-03T17:45:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T17:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3423"},"modified":"2022-07-03T17:45:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T17:45:26","slug":"a-woman-needs-a-man-like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/a-woman-needs-a-man-like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"A Woman Needs a Man Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for a way to tell someone that women are independent and capable? You could use the saying \"a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle<\/em>\" to show them that you don't need a man in your life to succeed. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The feminist slogan, \"a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle<\/em>,\" means that women don't need to rely on men to achieve what they want in life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cI left my husband on the weekend. I can\u2019t take him anymore. You know what they say, a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy boyfriend dumped me on Valentine's day for someone else. Oh well, a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you think you need a man to help you out in life? A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked this cute girl at the store if she wanted to go out on a date. She said no, and that women need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI ran into this crazy feminist at the park. I asked her why she thinks she doesn\u2019t need a man. She told me a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Origin<\/h2>\n

Gloria Steinem often receives credit for this feminist slogan. However, it was coined by Irina Dunn circa 1970. Gloria wrote to Time Magazine in 2000 after they incorrectly credited her for the phrase.<\/p>\n

\"In your note on my new and happy marital partnership with David Bale, you credit me with the witticism 'A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.' In fact, Irina Dunn, a distinguished Australian educator, journalist, and politician, coined the phrase back in 1970 when she was a student at the University of Sydney. She paraphrased the philosopher who said, 'Man needs God like fish needs a bicycle.' Dunn deserves credit for creating such a popular and durable spoof of the old idea that women need men more than vice versa.\"<\/p>\n

Irina Dunn confirmed Steinem's letter in 2002, where she wrote.<\/p>\n

\"Yes, indeed, I am the one Gloria referred to. I was paraphrasing from a phrase I read in a philosophical text I was reading for my Honours year in English Literature and Language in 1970.\"<\/p>\n