--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The argument between wives and whores is…" description: "\"The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is not the other.\" — Andrea Dworkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/andrea-dworkin-1998_argument_the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is_2986712.png" --- # The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each… ![“The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is not the other.” quote by Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/andrea-dworkin-1998_argument_the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is_2986712.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/andrea-dworkin-1998_argument_the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is_2986712.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/andrea-dworkin-1998_argument_the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is_2986712.png) > “The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is not the other.” [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. Women and sex workers are often pitted against each other, each denying the other’s identity. **In simple terms:** Society creates false rivalries between women. Key Takeaway Challenge divisive stereotypes. Themes gender politics stigma identity feminism Mood critical provocative Type social political When to use this quote - activism - writing - public speaking - policy advocacy Key Concepts social hierarchy intersectionality power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can solidarity be fostered? - What narratives break these binaries? A Different Perspective Simplifying complex identities can be reductive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wives/) ## Related quotes > [“We'd had sex like we were whores to each other, and when it was done, we each moved to our side of the bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-d-had-sex-like-we-were-whores-to-each-other-and-when-it-was-done/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Most Politicians Are The Whores at The Establishment Party, But We're The Ones Getting Fucked”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/most-politicians-are-the-whores-at-the-establishment-party-but-we-re/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“Between the whores' world and God's world, like a river dividing two empires, stretches an intense smell of urine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/between-the-whores-world-and-god-s-world-like-a-river-dividing-two/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“All through schools, jobs, and bumming, I haven’t even held the hand of a Mexican woman, excepting whores who are all the same anyhow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-zeta-acosta/all-through-schools-jobs-and-bumming-i-haven-t-even-held-the-hand-of/) [Oscar Zeta Acosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-zeta-acosta/) > [“Don't laugh, it's people like her who make this lousy world a place worth visiting.' 'Whores?' 'No. We're all whores, sooner or later. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/don-t-laugh-it-s-people-like-her-who-make-this-lousy-world-a-place/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [WHORES ! Stop flirting damn no-one wants you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whores-stop-flirting-damn-no-one-wants-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Twinkle twinkle little whore, close your fucking legs. They're not a door!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/racheey-babbeess/twinkle-twinkle-little-whore-close-your-fucking-legs-they-re-not-a/) Racheey Babbeess > [Men want all women to lie down as whores and get up as virgins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/men-want-all-women-to-lie-down-as-whores-and-get-up-as-virgins/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [“There were icons of the Magdalen on the walls and paintings in the Western manner, all kitsch, trash. Mary M., Lucas thought, half hypnotized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/there-were-icons-of-the-magdalen-on-the-walls-and-paintings-in-the/) [Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/) > [We get paid in flesh. Our audiences are sluts and whores, each and every one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/we-get-paid-in-flesh-our-audiences-are-sluts-and-whores-each-and/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [Twinkle twinkle little whore, close them legs, they smell like fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/racheey-babbeess/twinkle-twinkle-little-whore-close-them-legs-they-smell-like-fish/) Racheey Babbeess > [Ideologies have no heart of their own. They're the whores and angels of our striving selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/ideologies-have-no-heart-of-their-own-they-re-the-whores-and-angels/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/men-will-pay-large-sums-to-whores-for-telling-them-they-are-not-bores/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [A lot of women will use any excuse to dance and dress like whores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lot-of-women-will-use-any-excuse-to-dance-and-dress-like-whores/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Previously, when I began to write this tale, I set out by saying that Mlle. Claude was a whore. She is a whore, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/previously-when-i-began-to-write-this-tale-i-set-out-by-saying-that/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## 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 Argument quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If in the middle of an argument I suddenly fall silent it does not mean you have won... No it means you should probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/if-in-the-middle-of-an-argument-i-suddenly-fall-silent-it-does-not/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) > [“The motive behind my arguments have always been to come at truth. I am not interested in conquering anyone with my ideologies or seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-evans/the-motive-behind-my-arguments-have-always-been-to-come-at-truth-i-am/) [Crystal Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-evans/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) [Browse all 3,479 Argument quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is not the other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrea Dworkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is-an-old-one-each-one-thinking/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Argument" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is-an-old-one-each-one-thinking/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/andrea-dworkin-1998_argument_the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is_2986712.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/andrea-dworkin-1998_argument_the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is_2986712.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/andrea-dworkin-1998_argument_the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is_2986712.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is…” — 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": "The argument between wives and whores...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is-an-old-one-each-one-thinking/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-argument-between-wives-and-whores-is-an-old-one-each-one-thinking/#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 } } ] } ```