Double standard Quote by Andrea Dworkin
““She will try to find the nice way to exercise intelligence. But intelligence is not ladylike. Intelligence is full of excesses. Rigorous intelligene abhors sentimentality, and women must be sentimental to value the dreadful silliness of the men around them. Morbid intelligence abhors the cheery sunlight of positive thinking and eternal sweetness; and women must be sunlight and cheery and sweet, or the woman could not bribe her way with smiles through a day. Wild intelligence abhors any narrow world; and the world of women must stay narrow, or the woman is an outlaw. No woman could be Nietzsche or Rimbaud without ending up in a whorehouse or lobotomized. Any vital intelligence has passionate questions, aggressive answers; but women cannot be explorers; there can be no Lewis or Clark of the female mind.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Limits of Female Intelligence,” 1995
Intelligence is portrayed as masculine, forcing women into sentimental roles and limiting their intellectual freedom, highlighting gender bias in expectations.
In simple terms: Society forces women to be sentimental, restricting true intelligence.
Key Takeaway
Challenge gendered stereotypes of intellect.
Themes
gender
intelligence
stereotypes
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
feminist
philosophical
When to use this quote
- education
- workplace
- media representation
- personal development
Key Concepts
feminist critique
social norms
Questions to Reflect On
- How do cultural expectations shape intellectual expression?
- What can dismantle the sentimentality constraint on women?
A Different Perspective
Not all women experience these pressures uniformly.
