It is a very powerful phrase, but I did not create it. I borrowed and paraphrased it from @helenlewis whom I thought had coined it. But she denies coining it too.

It pops up in various forms, mostly in reference to feminism, and Quote Investigator gives citations back to '97. https://bit.ly/37GUjiW 

I am happy to popularise it, but it is not my idea.
This btw reminds me of the roots of 'We see further by standing on the shoulders of giants' a key phrase in science, that we attribute to Newton.

Newton wrote this in a letter to Hooke in 1675.
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."
https://bit.ly/3df0NXz 

But Newton did not invent it either. He was paraphrasing the 12thC Neo-Platonist scholar Bernard of Chartres.
https://bit.ly/2BqdG3y 

...who was referencing the myth of the temporarily blinded giant hunter Orion who placed his servant Cedalion on his shoulders.

Some have argued that Newton's use was a snark at Hooke, who was short and slight having been afflicted in his youth with kyphosis.

However, I see no evidence for this. Though Hooke and Newton were enemies later, at this point in time I believe their relationship to be cordial. It's a nice story, and Newton was a bit of a jerk, but I don't think this can be substantiated.

Anyway. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun...'
Ecclesiastes 1:9

And I have been heavily influenced about all of this from the amazing work of @remixeverything. You would do well to spend an hour or two immersed in his work. https://bit.ly/3bbqbMX 

And while we see further by standing on the shoulders of giants, whether we know it or not, we also stand on the shoulders of bastards.

And today's news that UCL will be removing the names of Galton and Pearson from some of their buildings should be a moment for us to learn about their legacies both positive and pernicious. https://bit.ly/2UWSnxu 

Anyway, there you go, a Friday thread on evolution - the most powerful force in the universe.