en kvinne uten mann er som en fisk uten sykkel

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From English a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle, a well-known feminist slogan coined in 1970 by the Australian filmmaker, social activist, and writer Irina Dunn (born 1948); according to her recollection, adapted from the phrase “A man needs God like a fish needs a bicycle” which she read in a philosophical text. The original phrase appears to be “A man without faith is like a fish without a bicycle”, coined by Charles S. Harris in 1955 and published in a 1958 article in the Swarthmore Phoenix. The phrase is often erroneously attributed to the American feminist journalist and social political activist Gloria Steinem (born 1934), but she disclaimed this in a letter to Time magazine published on 16 September 2000.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ən ˈkʋɪnːə ˈʉːtn̩ manː æːr sɔm ən fɪsk ˈʉːtn̩ sʏkːəl/

• Audio

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• Rhymes: -əl
• Hyphenation: en‧kvin‧ne‧ut‧en‧mann‧er‧som‧en‧fisk‧ut‧en‧syk‧kel

Phrase

en kvinne uten mann er som en fisk uten sykkel

1. (figuratively, humorous, simile) a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle (a woman is capable of living a complete and independent life without a man)