--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No phallic hero, no matter what he does…" description: "\"No phallic hero, no matter what he does to himself or to another to prove his courage, ever matches the solitary, existential courage of the woman who ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/andrea-dworkin-1998_birth_no-phallic-hero-no-matter-what-he-does-t_1149288.png" --- # No phallic hero, no matter what he does to himself or to… ![“No phallic hero, no matter what he does to himself or to another to prove his courage, ever matches the solitary, existential courage of the woman who gives birth.” quote by Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/andrea-dworkin-1998_birth_no-phallic-hero-no-matter-what-he-does-t_1149288.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/andrea-dworkin-1998_birth_no-phallic-hero-no-matter-what-he-does-t_1149288.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/andrea-dworkin-1998_birth_no-phallic-hero-no-matter-what-he-does-t_1149288.png) > “No phallic hero, no matter what he does to himself or to another to prove his courage, ever matches the solitary, existential courage of the woman who gives birth.” [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. Childbirth requires a unique, solitary bravery that surpasses traditional heroic acts. **In simple terms:** Giving birth is profound courage. Key Takeaway Respect women's strength. Themes courage gender existence heroism Mood reflective empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - medical training - parenting workshops - literary analysis Key Concepts Feminist theory biology Questions to Reflect On - How does society value different types of bravery? - Can we redefine heroism? A Different Perspective Physical danger and pain challenge the claim. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) ## Related quotes > [There is a vast difference between positive thinking and existential courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/there-is-a-vast-difference-between-positive-thinking-and-existential/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [Small men oft feel a need to prove their courage with unseemly boasts," he declared. "I doubt if he could kill a duck." 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Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. Sometimes you go elsewhere not because you are not liking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/sometimes-it-has-to-do-with-other-longings-that-are-much-more/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) ## 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. 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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 Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. 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And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... 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