--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In this society, the norm of masculinity…" description: "\"In this society, the norm of masculinity is phallic aggression. Male sexuality is, by definition, intensely and rigidly phallic. A man's identity is lo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/andrea-dworkin-1998_aggression_in-this-society-the-norm-of-masculinity_2697442.png" --- # In this society, the norm of masculinity is phallic… ![“In this society, the norm of masculinity is phallic aggression. Male sexuality is, by definition, intensely and rigidly phallic. A man's identity is located in his conception of himself as the possessor of a phallus; a man's worth is located in his pride in phallic identity. The main…” quote by Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/andrea-dworkin-1998_aggression_in-this-society-the-norm-of-masculinity_2697442.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/andrea-dworkin-1998_aggression_in-this-society-the-norm-of-masculinity_2697442.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/andrea-dworkin-1998_aggression_in-this-society-the-norm-of-masculinity_2697442.png) > “In this society, the norm of masculinity is phallic aggression. Male sexuality is, by definition, intensely and rigidly phallic. A man's identity is located in his conception of himself as the possessor of a phallus; a man's worth is located in his pride in phallic identity. The main characteristic of phallic identity is that worth is entirely contingent on the possession of a phallus. Since men have no other criteria for worth, no other notion of identity, those who do not have phalluses are not recognized as fully human.” [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. Masculine identity is tied to aggressive, phallic symbols, marginalizing those who don't fit this narrow definition. **In simple terms:** Male worth linked to aggressive symbols, excluding others. Key Takeaway Recognize diverse identities beyond aggression. Themes gender identity power masculinity Mood analytical provocative Type sociological critical When to use this quote - masculine men - gender studies - psychology - social policy Key Concepts phallic symbolism social constructs Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect gender equality? - What alternatives exist for male identity? A Different Perspective Overlooks non‑phallic expressions of masculinity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) [Characteristic Phallic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristic-phallic-2706944/) [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Criteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criteria/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Identity Phalluses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-phalluses-2706945/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Masculinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masculinity/) [Masculinity Phallic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masculinity-phallic-2706946/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Norm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/norm/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Phallic Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phallic-aggression-2706947/) [Phallic Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phallic-identity-1166899/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [This society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-society/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [I am devoting my lecture in this seminar to a discussion of the possibility that we are now entering a Jewish century, a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-a-siegel/i-am-devoting-my-lecture-in-this-seminar-to-a-discussion-of-the/) [Martin A. 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Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [The road to being somebody in this society starts with education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-road-to-being-somebody-in-this-society-starts-with-education/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Your parents were always trying to get you to be careful when you were a kid, and that's all pervasive in this society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-weir/your-parents-were-always-trying-to-get-you-to-be-careful-when-you/) [Bob Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-weir/) > [In this society, if a man is called a woman, that's the biggest insult he could get...Is that because women are considered something less?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-pejic/in-this-society-if-a-man-is-called-a-woman-that-s-the-biggest-insult/) [Andrej Pejic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-pejic/) > [To feel is perhaps the most terrifying thing in this society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-taylor/to-feel-is-perhaps-the-most-terrifying-thing-in-this-society/) [Cecil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-taylor/) > [Our people have made the mistake of confusing the methods with the objectives. As long as we agree on objectives, we should never fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/our-people-have-made-the-mistake-of-confusing-the-methods-with-the/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Thai society rarely attempts to control literature in the same way that it vigilantly polices visual art. It's ironic because people in this society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/araya-rasdjarmrearnsook/thai-society-rarely-attempts-to-control-literature-in-the-same-way/) [Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/araya-rasdjarmrearnsook/) > [Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/life-in-this-society-being-at-best-an-utter-bore-and-no-aspect-of/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [Capitalism as a social order and as a creed is the expression of the belief in economic progress as leading toward the freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/capitalism-as-a-social-order-and-as-a-creed-is-the-expression-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## 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 Aggression quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-nothing-in-our-history-or-position-to-invite-aggression-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Boxing can be so important to young people, it keeps you off the street and you can channel your energy and aggression in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-benn/boxing-can-be-so-important-to-young-people-it-keeps-you-off-the/) [Nigel Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-benn/) > [“That which is of great value cannot be attained through aggression. You will be able to find the mystery of life only if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/that-which-is-of-great-value-cannot-be-attained-through-aggression/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. 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My clients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-peterson/i-really-like-battle-ropes-they-re-so-versatile-you-can-get-a/) [Gunnar Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-peterson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [I'm not going to appeal to violence or aggression - of course not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/i-m-not-going-to-appeal-to-violence-or-aggression-of-course-not/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [This is passive-aggression in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/this-is-passive-aggression-in-action/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [When a child hits a child, we call it aggression. When a child hits an adult, we call it hostility. When an adult hits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-child-hits-a-child-we-call-it-aggression-when-a-child-hits-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) [Browse all 860 Aggression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In this society, the norm of masculinity is phallic aggression. Male sexuality is, by definition, intensely and rigidly phallic. A man's identity is located in his conception of himself as the possessor of a phallus; a man's worth is located in his pride in phallic identity. 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