Bears Quote by Andrea Dworkin
“Women, for centuries not having access to pornography and now unable to bear looking at the muck on the supermarket shelves, are astonished. Women do not believe that men believe what pornography says about women. But they do. From the worst to the best of them, they do.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Pornography and Patriarchy, 1985, The Feminist Review
Women are surprised by how men accept porn’s depiction of them, despite lacking direct exposure.
In simple terms: Women are shocked men believe porn’s view of them.
Key Takeaway
Challenge accepted narratives about gender.
Themes
gender
media
perception
Mood
outraged
determined
Type
critical
activist
When to use this quote
- media literacy
- activism
- education
- policy debate
Key Concepts
feminist critique
cultural conditioning
Questions to Reflect On
- What evidence shows porn influences gender views?
- How can society confront these portrayals?
A Different Perspective
Some argue porn reflects existing attitudes rather than shaping them.
![“[I]n the male sexual lexicon, which is the vocabulary of power, erotica is simply high-class pornography: better produced, better conceived, better executed, better packaged, designed for a better class of consumer. As with the call girl and the streetwalker, one is turned out better but both are…” quote by Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/885/andrea-dworkin-1998_class_i-n-the-male-sexual-lexicon-which-is-the_2514662.jpg)
![“The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the formulas of nations at war, where any heinousness is justified on the grounds that the enemy is either an inferior [part of the] species or…” quote by Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/895/kate-millett-7301_accompany_the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imp_8896.jpg)
