Paris Hilton Dominates the News, But Let's Remember the Words of Intelligent Women

AC Contributer
AC Contributer, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jun 15, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
Paris Hilton is getting far too much media attention, for no real reason. In a nutshell: she got a DUI, acted flip about the charge and drove her Bentley even though her license was suspended, got caught, placed the blame on her publicist for not supposedly not explaining to her that she isn't supposed to drive, was sentenced to serve some jail time, whined about that, went to jail for a few days, got sprung out of jail, got ordered back to court, and was then told to go back to jail. The news of Paris going in and out of jail has clogged up all of the national and local television channels. Let us try to keep in mind that there are women in the world that deserve to have their story told because they could actually make a positive impact upon the world with their profound thoughts. In the spirit of celebrating women who have utilized their intellect to make a difference in the world, here are some brilliant quotes from some extraordinary women.

Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes."
Clare Boothe Luce

I've yet to be on a campus where most women weren't worrying about some aspect of combining marriage, children, and a career. I've yet to find one where many men were worrying about the same thing.
Gloria Steinem

Cautious, careful people always casting about to preserve their reputation or social standards never can bring about reform. Those who are really in earnest are willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathies with despised ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.
Susan B. Anthony

For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women.
Elizabeth Blackwell, The first woman in the U.S. to become a physician

You can do one of two things; just shut up, which is something I don't find easy, or learn an awful lot very fast, which is what I tried to do.
Jane Fonda

Don't compromise yourself. You are all that you've got.
Janis Joplin

Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt

So much has been said and sung of the beauty of young girls; why don't somebody wake up to the beauty of old women?
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down with incredible swiftness.
Faith Baldwin

I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives but as nouns.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, "Our Girls"

Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.
Faith Whittlesey

A feminist is a woman who does not allow anyone to think in her place.
Michele Le Doeuff

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.
Rebecca West, English Writer 1892-1983, Speaking in 1913

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott

I hope that by reading these quotations and considering the message within each, we are taking a break from the nonsense that is Paris Hilton and remembering some words of brilliant women, from both past and present, who have provoked conversation that actually mattered.

Published by AC Contributer

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  • Courtney Phillips 6/18/2007

    Isabel-I knew you missed the point of the article. You didn't even read it and then you wrote a very hypocritical comment. It is insulting that you didn't read the article and then felt the need to rant about it. At least I took the time to read one of your articles and then I provided you with suggestions to make your "rant" better. You are abusing the best intentions of the AC community if you are going around and commenting on other's article without reading them just to generate traffic for your own articles. I think that is really despicable. I stand fully behind my words and I know that I effectively communicated my point. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of using the media attention focused on Hilton to present the opportunity to use the words of Elisabeth Cady Stanton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Janis Joplin, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe and others. In your first comment you mentioned the ban of all articles relating to "her", but I think any ban on writing and conversati

  • Isabel Stewart 6/18/2007

    Hi Courtney, I am sorry I must have really upset you, it was not my intention. Here is how it is, i didn't read your article. My comments were based purely on your title, I knew what you were trying to do, however in doing so, unwittingly or otherwise, you did perpetuate the problem. Last night I spent the evening commenting on as many articles as i could in order to generate traffic. I guess that worked. What you read of mine was not an article but a rant, its point, to generate traffic. Guess what, it worked, proving my point that if you want to get on the front page, don't interview anyone, include Paris Hilton, rape, or just re-hash something from the AP. All my articles, aside of that one rant are in print. The point was to show other users how to generate hits, and clearly I done that, because my generally 4.0 articles don't receive comments, but boy did that rant get plenty. Thus, I rest my case. I am sure that your intentions when visiting my last work were initially just curio

  • Barbara Fields 6/18/2007

    I love the quotes and think your idea of focusing on the good is terrific...thanks

  • Courtney Phillips 6/18/2007

    I am not in any way perpetuating the problem that she has created. You missed the entire point of the article. I intentionally utilized her name to get anyone that may be searching for news on her to stumble upon the article and read it. See Isabel, you couldn't resist reading something that had her named tagged onto the headline, so obviously you are just as guilty as the rest of us concerning the media attention that Paris is receiving. In fact, you are perpetuating that problem more than myself. You see, there are numerous quotes in this article from insightful women, but your lengthy comment didn't mention any of them. You wrote on and on about Paris, which makes your own comment very hypocritical and senseless.

  • Isabel Stewart 6/18/2007

    I agree with you but I still think that you are perpetuating the problem simply by writing about her. I suggest that we all just stop mentioning her, seing as nobody else is going to chastise her, the best thing to do would be to simply ignore her, but how can we do that if producers keep writing about her. She belongs in the trash mags and she should be left in the trash and not seen on the pages of AC. I do believe that AC would be heralded as having a great deal of integrity if it just banned all articles about 'her,' and several other distasteful and detramental 'things.'

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