I remember hearing this saying or quote first when I was around 10 years old and I've hated it ever since. Our teacher used to make us write down hundreds of lines of famous sayings to make us practice cursive writing. My blood would boil each time I copied down "Behind every successful man is a great woman". Hmm.. maybe that's why I never got any good at cursive writing.
I haven't heard anyone say this for a pretty long time. However, I saw a post with this caption yesterday and I knew I had to get it off my chest. I guess you probably know the main reason I hate it. Yes, it is sexist af. Why does a woman have to be behind a man? Hello? This is the 21st century. A woman can have her own share of success without the help of any ne. Just like that, a man doesn't need to have a woman behind him to succeed. He could have made it on his own. Oh, sure, you would tell me that maybe he made it because of his mother. Every man has to have had a supportive mother to have made it. Umm.. no! He could have been a orphan for all I know.
This saying actually came about in the 60s and 70s as a slogan for the feminist movement. I do understand where this came from. Back in the day, women could not work and the only "success" they had were from the men. This slogan represented the woman's part in the success of her husband. During those days, the woman's place was only behind the husband.
However, we have come a long way since then. Both men and woman work equally hard. I see no reason why anyone would use this slogan in modern times. This is 2017, a woman can be successful if she works hard for it. A man doesn't need the support of anyone to get to his full potential either.