--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Feminist art may... though perhaps our…" description: "\"Feminist art may... though perhaps our imaginations are so mutilated now that we are incapable even of the ambition, introduce a new theme... should we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/andrea-dworkin-1998_ambition_feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imag_1355371.png" --- # Feminist art may... though perhaps our imaginations are so… ![“Feminist art may... though perhaps our imaginations are so mutilated now that we are incapable even of the ambition, introduce a new theme... should we call it 'joy'?” quote by Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/andrea-dworkin-1998_ambition_feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imag_1355371.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/andrea-dworkin-1998_ambition_feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imag_1355371.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/andrea-dworkin-1998_ambition_feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imag_1355371.png) > “Feminist art may... though perhaps our imaginations are so mutilated now that we are incapable even of the ambition, introduce a new theme... should we call it 'joy'?” [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. Creative expression is constrained by societal damage; we must reclaim joy as a radical act. **In simple terms:** Art is scarred; joy can heal. Key Takeaway Cultivate joy in feminist creation. Themes creativity healing radical joy Mood hopeful defiant Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art workshops - community projects - personal practice Key Concepts feminist theory artistic freedom cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can joy be integrated without losing critical edge? - What practices restore imagination? A Different Perspective Joy may be dismissed as trivial in serious discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Feminist art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist-art/) [Flawless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flawless/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) ## Related quotes > [Feminist art is not some tiny creek running off the great river of real art. It is not some crack in an otherwise flawless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminist-art-is-not-some-tiny-creek-running-off-the-great-river-of-2/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Feminist art is not some tiny creek running off the great river of real art. It is not some crack in an otherwise flawless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminist-art-is-not-some-tiny-creek-running-off-the-great-river-of/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Feminist art... will take the great human themes – love, death, heroism, suffering, history itself – and render them fully human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminist-art-will-take-the-great-human-themes-love-death-heroism/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [I am not Lyme disease, that's not who I am, I'm still a feminist artist, but this is a part of my story too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/i-am-not-lyme-disease-that-s-not-who-i-am-i-m-still-a-feminist-artist/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [The only thing I know is that I know nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Recently some work I made could be seen as feminist art or work that relates to the body. That's just what I'm feeling -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/recently-some-work-i-made-could-be-seen-as-feminist-art-or-work-that/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [I never made "feminist art," and if I did it was not deliberate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-stuart/i-never-made-feminist-art-and-if-i-did-it-was-not-deliberate/) [Michelle Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-stuart/) > [For me, now, feminist art must show a consciousness of women's social and economic position in the world. I also believe it demonstrates forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-lacy/for-me-now-feminist-art-must-show-a-consciousness-of-women-s-social/) Suzanne Lacy > [Sometimes, being a feminist artist, there are times where I'm in a position where I just want to feel like I'm saying all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/sometimes-being-a-feminist-artist-there-are-times-where-i-m-in-a-2/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [The female body has always been a construction. Even feminist art of the 1970s fashioned a body in accordance with its own ideas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/the-female-body-has-always-been-a-construction-even-feminist-art-of/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I didn't like anti-Vietnam War art. I didn't like feminist art. I thought it was heavy-handed and stupid - as art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-didn-t-like-anti-vietnam-war-art-i-didn-t-like-feminist-art-i/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [I wouldn’t want to be labelled unless it was something much broader and inclusive such as an ecological artist or a visionary artist, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolee-schneemann/i-wouldn-t-want-to-be-labelled-unless-it-was-something-much-broader/) [Carolee Schneemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolee-schneemann/) > [The work is what it is and hopefully it's seen as feminist work, or feminist-advised work, but I'm not going to go around espousing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/the-work-is-what-it-is-and-hopefully-it-s-seen-as-feminist-work-or/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [Sometimes, being a feminist artist, there are times where I'm in a position where I just want to feel like I'm saying all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/sometimes-being-a-feminist-artist-there-are-times-where-i-m-in-a/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) ## 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 Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Feminist art may... though perhaps our imaginations are so mutilated now that we are incapable even of the ambition, introduce a new theme... should we call it 'joy'?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrea Dworkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imaginations-are-so-mutilated-now/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imaginations-are-so-mutilated-now/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/andrea-dworkin-1998_ambition_feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imag_1355371.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/andrea-dworkin-1998_ambition_feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imag_1355371.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a8/andrea-dworkin-1998_ambition_feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imag_1355371.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Feminist art may... though perhaps our imaginations are so mutilated now that we are incapable even of the…” — Andrea Dworkin", "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": "Andrea Dworkin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Feminist art may... though perhaps our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imaginations-are-so-mutilated-now/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminist-art-may-though-perhaps-our-imaginations-are-so-mutilated-now/#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 } } ] } ```