--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being female in this world means having…" description: "\"Being female in this world means having been robbed of the potential for human choice by men who love to hate us. One does does not make choices in fre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/andrea-dworkin-1998_abandonment_being-female-in-this-world-means-having_1331206.jpg" --- # Being female in this world means having been robbed of the… ![“Being female in this world means having been robbed of the potential for human choice by men who love to hate us. One does does not make choices in freedom. Instead, one conforms in body type and behavior and values to become an object of male sexual desire, which requires an abandonment of a…” quote by Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/andrea-dworkin-1998_abandonment_being-female-in-this-world-means-having_1331206.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/andrea-dworkin-1998_abandonment_being-female-in-this-world-means-having_1331206.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/andrea-dworkin-1998_abandonment_being-female-in-this-world-means-having_1331206.jpg) > “Being female in this world means having been robbed of the potential for human choice by men who love to hate us. One does does not make choices in freedom. Instead, one conforms in body type and behavior and values to become an object of male sexual desire, which requires an abandonment of a wide-ranging capacity for choice... Men too make choices. When will they choose not to despise us?” [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society often forces women into roles defined by male desire, limiting true autonomy and choice. **In simple terms:** Women are denied freedom by patriarchal expectations. Key Takeaway Challenge restrictive norms and demand equal agency. Themes gender patriarchy autonomy objectification Mood frustrated determined hopeful Type critical provocative When to use this quote - activism - education - policy reform - personal empowerment Key Concepts feminist theory social control identity politics Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals resist objectification? - What societal shifts are needed for true gender equality? A Different Perspective Change requires both personal resistance and systemic transformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Love & hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-hate-2/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sexual desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-desire/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Those who choose to despise us find themselves in the best company.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/those-who-choose-to-despise-us-find-themselves-in-the-best-company/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Today, despite all of the gains we have made, neither men nor women have real choice. Until women have supportive employers and colleagues as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/today-despite-all-of-the-gains-we-have-made-neither-men-nor-women/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [The day Henry made a choice... that some men are just too interesting to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/the-day-henry-made-a-choice-that-some-men-are-just-too-interesting-to/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) > [When anti-choice men talk about abortion, you get the feeling they really have no idea what they're talking about - they haven't done even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cooper/when-anti-choice-men-talk-about-abortion-you-get-the-feeling-they/) [Sarah Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cooper/) > [It's not you, it's my horrible choice in men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-you-it-s-my-horrible-choice-in-men/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sex as desired by the class that dominates women is held by that class to be elemental, urgent, necessary, even if or even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/sex-as-desired-by-the-class-that-dominates-women-is-held-by-that/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [I have no choice about whether or not I have Parkinson's. I have nothing but choices about how I react to it. In those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/i-have-no-choice-about-whether-or-not-i-have-parkinson-s-i-have/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [“For the first time in my life I had money, and it was the most liberating thing in the world. The first thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/for-the-first-time-in-my-life-i-had-money-and-it-was-the-most/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“At times, life presents us with challenging conditions, and trying to navigate them can be utterly overwhelming. Since our most powerful asset is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/at-times-life-presents-us-with-challenging-conditions-and-trying-to/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“Your choices are your only freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/your-choices-are-your-only-freedom/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Historically, black women have suffered tremendously, but today's black women are the triumph. We have choices, and that's what freedom is all about: having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-l-taylor/historically-black-women-have-suffered-tremendously-but-today-s-black/) [Susan L. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-l-taylor/) > [“Be Proactive. People are responsible for their own choices and have the freedom to choose based on principles and values rather than”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/be-proactive-people-are-responsible-for-their-own-choices-and-have/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [“When we understand what is right and what is wrong, we are in a position to exercise our freedom in making choices. In so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-l-larsen/when-we-understand-what-is-right-and-what-is-wrong-we-are-in-a/) [Dean L. Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-l-larsen/) > [“Our most powerful asset in life is the ability to make choices for ourselves. This freedom to choose, we must conquer fiercely, cherish dearly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/our-most-powerful-asset-in-life-is-the-ability-to-make-choices-for/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“Decisions lead to options, options to choices, choices to freedom. We all design out own reality, write our own script, build our own house...or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-asante/decisions-lead-to-options-options-to-choices-choices-to-freedom-we/) [M.K. Asante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-k-asante/) ## More by Andrea Dworkin > [Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women's bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/heterosexual-intercourse-is-the-pure-formalized-expression-of/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [There is no place on earth, no day or night, no hour or minute, when one is not a Jew or a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/there-is-no-place-on-earth-no-day-or-night-no-hour-or-minute-when-one/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Men are rewarded for learning the practice of violence in virtually any sphere of activity by money, admiration, recognition, respect, and the genuflection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/men-are-rewarded-for-learning-the-practice-of-violence-in-virtually/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [“Inferiority is not banal or incidental even when it happens to women. It is not a petty affliction like bad skin or circles under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/inferiority-is-not-banal-or-incidental-even-when-it-happens-to-women/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [“Critiques of rape, pornography, and prostitution are “sex-negative” without qualification or examination, perhaps because so many men use these ignoble routes of access and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/critiques-of-rape-pornography-and-prostitution-are-sex-negative/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Surely the freedom of women must mean more to us than the freedom of pimps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/surely-the-freedom-of-women-must-mean-more-to-us-than-the-freedom-of/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [As I see it, our revolutionary task is to destroy phallic identity in men and masochistic non-identity in women--that is, to destroy the polar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/as-i-see-it-our-revolutionary-task-is-to-destroy-phallic-identity-in/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [The will to domination is a ravenous beast. There are never enough warm bodies to satiate its monstrous hunger. Once alive, this beast grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-will-to-domination-is-a-ravenous-beast-there-are-never-enough/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Feminism exists so that no woman ever has to face her abuser in isolation, alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminism-exists-so-that-no-woman-ever-has-to-face-her-abuser-in/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [“people ask, well, dont sweet things happen? yes, indeed, many sweet things, but sweet doesnt keep you from dying, making love doesnt keep you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/people-ask-well-dont-sweet-things-happen-yes-indeed-many-sweet-things/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Feminism is a political practice of fighting male supremacy on behalf of women as a class, including all the women you don't like, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminism-is-a-political-practice-of-fighting-male-supremacy-on-behalf/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [As long as there is rape... there is not going to be any peace or justice or equality or freedom. You are not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/as-long-as-there-is-rape-there-is-not-going-to-be-any-peace-or/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Pornography reveals that male pleasure is inextricably tied to victimizing, hurting, exploiting; that sexual fun and sexual passion in the privacy of the male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/pornography-reveals-that-male-pleasure-is-inextricably-tied-to/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [The man takes a body that is not his, claims it, sows his so-called seed, reaps a harvest - he colonizes a female body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-man-takes-a-body-that-is-not-his-claims-it-sows-his-so-called/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [We have a double standard, which is to say, a man can show how much he cares by being violent-see, he's jealous, he cares-a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/we-have-a-double-standard-which-is-to-say-a-man-can-show-how-much-he/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) [Explore all 186 Andrea Dworkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) ## More Abandonment quotes > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [I don't believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-don-t-believe-in-fate-or-destiny-i-believe-in-various-degrees-of/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Sometimes people walk away from love because it is so beautiful that it terrifies them. Sometimes they leave because the connection shines a bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-brown/sometimes-people-walk-away-from-love-because-it-is-so-beautiful-that/) [Jeff Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-brown/) > [Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. But they have not accepted - they have scarcely even heard -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/modern-societies-accepted-the-treasures-and-the-power-offered-them-by/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Judaism is absolutely incompatible with the abandonment of the Torah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-schechter/judaism-is-absolutely-incompatible-with-the-abandonment-of-the-torah/) [Solomon Schechter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-schechter/) > [“Abandonment is ugly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moore/abandonment-is-ugly/) [Michelle Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moore/) > [In our culture of constant access and nonstop media, nothing feels more like a curse from God than time in the wilderness. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/in-our-culture-of-constant-access-and-nonstop-media-nothing-feels/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [“When you give everything, you have nothing to lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/when-you-give-everything-you-have-nothing-to-lose/) [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) > [The only thing worse than being abandoned, is not being worthy of an explanation. It hurts to let go... but the feeling you're falling..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joryneville/the-only-thing-worse-than-being-abandoned-is-not-being-worthy-of-an/) JoryNeville > [“I am not so different in my history of abandonment from anyone else after all. We have all been split away from each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/i-am-not-so-different-in-my-history-of-abandonment-from-anyone-else/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“The introduction to horrors so young impressed on me just how helpless and vulnerable I was. Parents are supposed to empower their children to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-enevoldsen/the-introduction-to-horrors-so-young-impressed-on-me-just-how/) [Christina Enevoldsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-enevoldsen/) > [Heartbreak has an archetypal core, all heartbroken individuals suffer from the same kind of torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginette-paris/heartbreak-has-an-archetypal-core-all-heartbroken-individuals-suffer/) Ginette Paris > [“Lonely Balcony The deterioration brought by weariness was visible. Its burden of abandonment can be perceived at a glance. The balcony ache with longings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iqra-iqbal/lonely-balcony-the-deterioration-brought-by-weariness-was-visible-its/) [iqra iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iqra-iqbal/) > [God causes us to promise in time of peace what He exacts from us in time of war; He enables us to make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/god-causes-us-to-promise-in-time-of-peace-what-he-exacts-from-us-in/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) [Browse all 348 Abandonment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being female in this world means having been robbed of the potential for human choice by men who love to hate us. One does does not make choices in freedom. 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