They say women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you
They say women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by men.
Clare Boothe Luce, warrior of words and sharp-tongued truth-teller, once spoke with wit that cut deeper than swords: “They say women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by men.” In these words lies both laughter and revelation. For the charge that women are too talkative has long been a weapon to silence them, yet Luce, with piercing irony, exposed the hypocrisy: the greatest torrents of speech in the halls of power have been wielded not by women, but by men.
The filibuster, that endless stream of words meant to delay, obstruct, or wear down opponents, stands as proof. It is not idle chatter but a weapon forged in the arsenal of politics, designed to control the flow of law and bind the will of nations. Men who mocked women for loquacity turned around and sanctified their own endless speech as a tool of governance. Luce, with her fire, revealed the contradiction and turned insult into triumph, showing that speech itself is power—and power has long been spoken by men.
Her words were not born in idleness. As one of the first women elected to the United States Congress, and later as ambassador, Clare Boothe Luce knew firsthand the weight of male-dominated chambers. She had seen men thunder for hours on the floor, cloaking obstruction in rhetoric, while dismissing women’s voices as excessive. With biting clarity, she unmasked the truth: silencing women is never about too many words, but about fear of what those words contain.
History offers us the tale of Senator Strom Thurmond, who in 1957 spoke for over twenty-four hours to halt civil rights legislation. This was the filibuster at its peak—a man’s voice drowning out justice, praised as endurance while countless women’s words in homes and councils were dismissed as “nagging.” Luce’s irony here becomes wisdom: it is not the quantity of words that matters, but their use. Men used endless speech to block progress; women were mocked for speaking truth into silence.
Therefore, children of freedom, hear this lesson. Do not scorn the voice of women, for words are the breath of change, the music of democracy, the fire that stirs nations. Remember always that the power of speech belongs not to one sex, but to all humanity. And know this: when women are free to speak without chains, their words are not idle talk but the songs of justice and the poetry of liberation. For to silence half the human race is to rob the world of half its truth.
XHXuyen Huynh
Clare Boothe Luce’s comment is a sharp observation about the power of language and speech in politics. While women are often criticized for talking too much, the filibuster, a tool used to dominate conversation and prevent action, was created by men. Is this a critique of the political system itself or a more general commentary on how men and women are treated differently when they assert themselves in public spaces?
XA02.Nguyen Xuan An
Does this quote reveal how political systems are often designed in ways that allow certain tactics, like the filibuster, to suppress opposing voices? If women are criticized for being talkative, yet men created a system that enables extended talking to halt progress, does it expose the imbalance in how power and voice are structured? How might such dynamics influence women’s participation and effectiveness in political environments?
MNminhduc ngo
Clare Boothe Luce seems to be drawing attention to the double standard when it comes to how men and women are perceived in politics. If women are often criticized for talking too much, but men created the filibuster to monopolize conversations and delay progress, what does that say about the dynamics of power and control in political discourse? Could the filibuster be seen as an example of how men have shaped the political landscape to their advantage?
HNHuy Nhat
Is this quote challenging the stereotype that women talk too much by turning the criticism back on men? Clare Boothe Luce humorously points out that the filibuster, a notorious tactic used to delay legislative action, was invented by men. Could this be a clever way of pointing out that it’s not women’s verbosity that’s the problem, but the way certain political structures are designed? How does this change our understanding of communication in politics?