This quote was popularized by Steinem and is often attributed to her. However, the line was first coined by Australian educator Irina Dunn, as indicated at The Phrase Finder http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/414150.html <br class="br">Misattributed
“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
Irina Dunn (1948) Australian writer, documentary maker and Nuclear Disarmament Party politician
Parodying 'A man needs God like a fish needs a bicycle.' http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/414150.html
“Live or die, a man and a woman need love.”
David Gemmell book Legend
Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 6
Context: Live or die, a man and a woman need love. There is a need in the race. We need to share. To belong. Perhaps you will die before the year is out. But remember this: to have may be taken from you, to have had never. it is far better to have tasted love before dying than to die alone.
“A good man is as strong as the right woman needs him to be.”
Gregory David Roberts book Shantaram
Source: Shantaram
“When no man steps forward to meet a need, a woman will.”
Leon MacLaren (1910–1994) British philosopher
Adago, John. East Meets West (p. 95)
“The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool!”
Rudyard Kipling book Plain Tales from the Hills
Three and—an Extra.
Plain Tales from the Hills (1888)
“A man needs truth like a machine needs oil.”
Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) American writer
Often attributed to Kerouac's novel Big Sur, the quote cannot be found in that book, nor in any of Kerouac's other published works. It is, in fact, a quote by the Kerouac character in the movie of Big Sur (2013) and therefore composed by the screenplay writer Michael Polish, rather than by Jack Kerouac.
Misattributed
