She was only kidding...

1977 was a real year for feminism, it seems. I bought my own badge sometime around then which said “When God created man She was only kidding.” So many similar quotes bounced out of then with no name acknowledged on anything that was – and still is – sold. T-shirts, badges, stickers, posters, mugs – every selling thing at least since 1977, and none printed with who said the quote! 

My badge had been filed away with all my other very old stuff which I just take with me wherever I go. Like my Singapore study – handwritten because PCs (personal computers) didn’t exist then; a letter from my grandfather who died in hospital in 1964; my old (1975 – I was 19) untitled poem with the first line “Won’t somebody love me?”. 

I found the badge recently when I had gone through my very old stuff, put it away, and found it again today. I decided – probably a very silly idea – to try to find out who said it. Nada. I think this quote is far too old and “unknown” that it hasn’t appeared in anyone’s speech on record. Gloria Steinem was mentioned for saying something like this, but I can’t find if she actually said this. 

What I found was books, including: 

• Fragments that remain by Steven Corbin, 1993 – “When God made man, she was only kidding” – no acknowledgement.
• Rebellious Laughter: People’s Humor in American Culture by Joseph Boskin, 1997 – “When God made man she was only joking”. This one was apparently from 1977 feminism, last word changed but no acknowledgement.
• The White Gorilla: Graves Quary by Bruce Holmberg, 2010 - “She knew God had a sense of humour She made men” – also a little bit different but no acknowledgment. 

Webpages included Poetic Expressions – in “Marriage Jokes” page “When God created man, she was only joking” filled a line – no person acknowledged for saying it.

I found the counter-quote "When God created Eve, he was only joking" in a comment on a story about SXSW: 'Trainwreck" Star Amy Schimer on 16 March 2015 - the comment was 22 March. This guy is obviously not a feminist, but no acknowledgement about who said what he quoted - maybe that makes him very... male.

I only spent a couple of hours looking through the stuff I found on the internet, and I'm oretty sure I've come up with a blank. This saying - or any of the ones this has been changed to - has gone around the world heaps of times since at least 1977 and, as I mentioned at the start, now comes out in t-shirts, badges, stickers, posters, mugs - every selling thing.

I often like every quote which I see that acknowledges the person who originally said it. Unfortunately, this one seems to have popped out (with a few minor changes) too many years ago. If anyone reading this has any paper evidence as to who said it, please contact me - I'd love to know!

I'm not kidding!