--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s really no such thing as the…" description: "\"“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless,’” Arundhati Roy has said. “There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”\" — Al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bda/alexandra-fuller-7586_silence_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_2018898.png" --- # There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless,’”… ![“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless,’” Arundhati Roy has said. “There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.” quote by Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bda/alexandra-fuller-7586_silence_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_2018898.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bda/alexandra-fuller-7586_silence_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_2018898.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bda/alexandra-fuller-7586_silence_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_2018898.png) > ““There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless,’” Arundhati Roy has said. “There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”” [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Voices are not absent; they are often suppressed or ignored by choice or circumstance. **In simple terms:** People are silenced, not voiceless. Key Takeaway Identify and amplify suppressed voices. Themes justice power silence voice activism Mood concerned determined Type critical activist When to use this quote - media coverage - political activism - community organizing Key Concepts social control marginalization agency Questions to Reflect On - Who in your community is being deliberately silenced? - How can you responsibly give platform to unheard voices? A Different Perspective Silencing can be subtle and systemic, making it hard to detect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [There's really no such thing as the 'voiceless'. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voiceless-there-are-only-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I'm grateful that, after an early life of being silenced, sometimes violently, I grew up to have a voice, circumstances that will always bind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-m-grateful-that-after-an-early-life-of-being-silenced-sometimes/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Yesterday I felt like shit, so I rode my bike around town and repeatedly grafittied “The revolution is not being televised” in paint pen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inga-muscio/yesterday-i-felt-like-shit-so-i-rode-my-bike-around-town-and/) [Inga Muscio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inga-muscio/) > [“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” – Arundhati Roy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/another-world-is-not-only-possible-she-is-on-her-way-on-a-quiet-day-i/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [Arundhati Roy has been called many things, including a terrorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-agnihotri/arundhati-roy-has-been-called-many-things-including-a-terrorist/) [Vivek Agnihotri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-agnihotri/) > ['An Obedient Father' is perhaps the novel that, some might say, Arundhati Roy had wanted to write when she wrote 'The God of Small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/an-obedient-father-is-perhaps-the-novel-that-some-might-say-arundhati/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [“Does rough weather choose men over women? Does the sun beat on men, leaving women nice and cool?' Nyawira asked rather sharply. 'Women bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ng-g-wa-thiong-o/does-rough-weather-choose-men-over-women-does-the-sun-beat-on-men/) [Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ng-g-wa-thiong-o/) > [It's rare that you get to read, let alone teach, an arbitrary canon of your choosing in a tight time setting, and I tore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/it-s-rare-that-you-get-to-read-let-alone-teach-an-arbitrary-canon-of/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [“Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-bernock/trauma-is-personal-it-does-not-disappear-if-it-is-not-validated-when/) [Danielle Bernock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-bernock/) > [Thought that is silenced is always rebellious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-barth/thought-that-is-silenced-is-always-rebellious/) [Alan Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-barth/) > [“I lived through this horror, and no one can tell me I have to stay quiet. "I have been silenced long enough, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-merryn/i-lived-through-this-horror-and-no-one-can-tell-me-i-have-to-stay/) [Erin Merryn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-merryn/) > [ If no one speaks out for \[young readers\], if they don’t speak out for themselves, all they’ll get for required reading will be the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/if-no-one-speaks-out-for-young-readers-if-they-don-t-speak-out-for/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-was-a-spring-without-voices-on-the-mornings-that-had-once-throbbed/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [We need to hear stories from older women. There's a wealth of wisdom and real resilience there, but they're silenced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-gadsby/we-need-to-hear-stories-from-older-women-there-s-a-wealth-of-wisdom/) [Hannah Gadsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-gadsby/) > [“A silenced leader's gaze stifles the oppressor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-i-svikiro/a-silenced-leader-s-gaze-stifles-the-oppressor/) Andy I. Svikiro ## More by Alexandra Fuller > [“Toasted tobacco, no additives,' I said. 'Yum. Tastes like childhood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/toasted-tobacco-no-additives-i-said-yum-tastes-like-childhood/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [I don't think we have all the words in a single vocabulary to explain what we are or why we are. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-don-t-think-we-have-all-the-words-in-a-single-vocabulary-to-explain/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [In the West, it was believed that attitude and ambition saved you. In Africa, we had learned that no one was immune to capricious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/in-the-west-it-was-believed-that-attitude-and-ambition-saved-you-in/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [I listen mostly to classical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-listen-mostly-to-classical-music/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [What is important is the story. Because when we are all dust and teeth and kicked-up bits of skin - when we're dancing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/what-is-important-is-the-story-because-when-we-are-all-dust-and-teeth/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [One of the things about being raised British in Africa is that you get this double whammy of toughness. The continent in place itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/one-of-the-things-about-being-raised-british-in-africa-is-that-you/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [“How much strength must one people have? And for how long must they have it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/how-much-strength-must-one-people-have-and-for-how-long-must-they/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [In general, I almost always watch foreign films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/in-general-i-almost-always-watch-foreign-films/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [I think that being raised the way I was, where everything was so uncompromising, where, you know, we're prepared to fight to the death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-think-that-being-raised-the-way-i-was-where-everything-was-so/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [This is not a full circle. It's life carrying on. It's the next breath we all take. It's the choice we make to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/this-is-not-a-full-circle-it-s-life-carrying-on-it-s-the-next-breath/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [“The schools wear the blank faces of war buildings, their windows blown blind by rocks or guns or mortars. Their plaster is an acne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/the-schools-wear-the-blank-faces-of-war-buildings-their-windows-blown/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [Until I read Anne Frank's diary, I had found books a literal escape from what could be the harsh reality around me. After I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/until-i-read-anne-frank-s-diary-i-had-found-books-a-literal-escape/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [I adore my family. I don't love their politics. I think they're wonderful parents. They were dreadful at parenting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-adore-my-family-i-don-t-love-their-politics-i-think-they-re/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [It seems very clear to me that we, in the West, cannot afford to continue assuming propriety over the world's resources in a careless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/it-seems-very-clear-to-me-that-we-in-the-west-cannot-afford-to/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [Oh, I don't keep a journal. How you remember an incident is dictated by your emotional state at the time. How you receive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/oh-i-don-t-keep-a-journal-how-you-remember-an-incident-is-dictated-by/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) [Explore all 89 Alexandra Fuller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) ## More Silence quotes > [Let us have the luxury of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/let-us-have-the-luxury-of-silence/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [I just can’t, Nick, okay? Now, please give me a second to lie here in silence and bleed.” – Caleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-just-can-t-nick-okay-now-please-give-me-a-second-to-lie-here-in/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“SILENT LIKE SLEEP You appear by my side, silent like sleep. Soft hair, a little wild. No fear, gentle like a calm river. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/silent-like-sleep-you-appear-by-my-side-silent-like-sleep-soft-hair-a/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [“A word is not filling in the gaps, but the fertilization of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-word-is-not-filling-in-the-gaps-but-the-fertilization-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“I’m not like her. I don’t steal people.” Mr. Tibbalt watched her, saying nothing. The silence made Victoria bristle. “Well, I don’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-legrand/i-m-not-like-her-i-don-t-steal-people-mr-tibbalt-watched-her-saying/) [Claire Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-legrand/) > [Silence can be the world's strongest weapon in torturing people's emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/silence-can-be-the-world-s-strongest-weapon-in-torturing-people-s/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“When all are one sentience, Language withers and fades away. Let's sit together and speak in silence, Let's be light to each other's way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/when-all-are-one-sentience-language-withers-and-fades-away-let-s-sit/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [True friendship is sitting together in silence and feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-friendship-is-sitting-together-in-silence-and-feeling-like-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“So what did God say to me in the silence that morning? I’m not sure, but I think God said something like, Don’t try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/so-what-did-god-say-to-me-in-the-silence-that-morning-i-m-not-sure/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I suppose he'll just have to do," she amended. "You'll have to suffer in silence with your male model...I feel for you." "Oh, stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-adornetto/i-suppose-he-ll-just-have-to-do-she-amended-you-ll-have-to-suffer-in/) [Alexandra Adornetto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-adornetto/) > [The silent majority is silent, and that is best for everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-kocher/the-silent-majority-is-silent-and-that-is-best-for-everybody/) [Gerhard Kocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-kocher/) > [“I once asked you what anxiety felt like, and you told me that most days left you riddled with bullet holes. Every morning came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-s/i-once-asked-you-what-anxiety-felt-like-and-you-told-me-that-most/) d.a.s [Browse all 8,731 Silence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless,’” Arundhati Roy has said. “There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandra Fuller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voiceless-arundhati-roy-has-said/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Silence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voiceless-arundhati-roy-has-said/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bda/alexandra-fuller-7586_silence_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_2018898.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bda/alexandra-fuller-7586_silence_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_2018898.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bda/alexandra-fuller-7586_silence_there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voic_2018898.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless,’” Arundhati Roy has said. “There are only the deliberately…” — Alexandra Fuller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexandra Fuller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There’s really no such thing as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voiceless-arundhati-roy-has-said/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/there-s-really-no-such-thing-as-the-voiceless-arundhati-roy-has-said/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```