"Humanity will ever seek but never attain perfection. Let us at least survive and go on trying."
About Dora Russell
Dora Russell — Life and Legacy
Dora Russell was a prominent British feminist and social activist, recognized for her unwavering commitment to women's rights and social justice. Her work, particularly in the early 20th century, challenged the prevailing norms of her time, advocating for equality and the importance of education for women. Russell famously stated, 'The most important thing is to be able to think for yourself,' a sentiment that encapsulates her belief in the power of independent thought and critical reasoning. This quote reflects her core philosophy that true liberation begins with self-awareness and the courage to question societal expectations. Russell's writings often explored the intersections of gender, class, and social reform, positioning her as a key figure in the feminist movement. She argued that the fight for women's rights was not just about gender equality but also about broader social justice. Her advocacy for women's education and reproductive rights laid the groundwork for future feminist movements, demonstrating how empowered women could effect change in society. Today, Dora Russell's quotes and ideas continue to resonate, reminding us of the importance of challenging injustice and advocating for equality. Her legacy serves as an inspiration for those who strive to create a more equitable world, emphasizing that the struggle for rights is ongoing and requires both courage and intellect.
Quote collection
Dora Russell quotes (page 1 of 2)
29 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Feminists have emphasized for a long time the importance of each woman's individual entity and the necessity of economic independence. Perhaps it was necessary. But now I think we need some emphasis on the instinctive side of life, sex and motherhood.... Life isn't all earning your living. Unfortunately we fall in love and Feminism must take that into consideration."
"Marie Stopes had established the first birth control clinic in Britain; the whole question of informing women, especially those who were poor, about methods of contraception, began to be discussed."
"If an adult uses violence on a child, the child will naturally assume that he too, has the right to use it on one smaller or weaker."
"Following the rise of the Labour Party it seemed reasonable, in 1927, to expect, or at least hope, that co-operation for the common good might gradually replace the competitiveness of capitalism."
"We have heeded no wisdom offering guidance."
"Democracy can only spring from practising it early, and democratic action was not to expected from young people brought up under a close authoritarian system."
"We have never yet had a labor Government that knew what taking power really means; they always act like second-class citizens."
"Marriage laws, the police, armies and navies are the mark of human incompetence."
"We have heeded no wisdom offering guidance. Only by learning to love one another can our world be saved. Only love can conquer all."
"We do not want our world to perish. But in our quest for knowledge, century by century, we have placed all our trust in a cold, impartial intellect which only brings us nearer to destruction."
"We want better reasons for having children than not knowing how to prevent them. Nor should we represent motherhood as something so common and easy that everyone can go through it without harm or suffering and rear her children competently and well."
"One of the problems with industrialism is that it's based on the premise of more and more. It has to keep expanding to keep going. More and more television sets. More and more cars. More and more steel, and more and more pollution. We don't question whether we need any more or what we'll do with them. We just have to keep on making more and more if we are to keep going. Sooner or later it's going to collapse. ... Look what we have done already with the principle of more and more when it comes to nuclear weapons."
"Because men have so long ruled the world, it does not follow that the philosophy by which they have ruled it is the correct one."
"Measures of self-government and a school council, especially for such young children, were a great innovation."
"The origin of the stupid ideal of womanhood against which men as well as women to-day are still fighting was the asceticism of the Christian religion; and, unless St. Paul was a woman in disguise, I fail to see how woman is to be blamed for a conception of her place and duty from which she has suffered more than anybody else."
"Art that means anything in the life of a community must bear some relation to current interpretations of the mystery of the universe. Our rigid separation of the humanities and the sciences has temporarily left our art stranded or stammering and incoherent. Both art and science ought to be blended in our early education of our children's emotions and powers of observation, and that harmony carried forward in later education."
"We want far better reasons for having children than not knowing how to prevent them."
"Industrialism is the religion with 'the machine' as the god going to answer all the prayers. Communism and capitalism were just competing sects."
"Animals we are, and animals we remain, and the path to our regeneration and happiness, if there be such a path, lies through our animal nature."