--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If half this country feels so threatened…" description: "\"“If half this country feels so threatened by two people of the same gender being in love and having sex (and, incidentally, enjoying equal protection u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/ariel-levy-7405_having-sex_if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened_1607375.jpg" --- # If half this country feels so threatened by two people of… ![“If half this country feels so threatened by two people of the same gender being in love and having sex (and, incidentally, enjoying equal protection under the law), that they turn their attention—during wartime—to blocking rights already denied to homosexuals, then all the cardio striptease…” quote by Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/ariel-levy-7405_having-sex_if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened_1607375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/ariel-levy-7405_having-sex_if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened_1607375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/ariel-levy-7405_having-sex_if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened_1607375.jpg) > ““If half this country feels so threatened by two people of the same gender being in love and having sex (and, incidentally, enjoying equal protection under the law), that they turn their attention—during wartime—to blocking rights already denied to homosexuals, then all the cardio striptease classes in the world aren’t going to render us sexually liberated.”” [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criticizes distraction tactics that ignore deeper issues of equality. **In simple terms:** Diverting focus from real rights. Key Takeaway Focus on substantive equality. Themes equality distraction politics Mood critical concerned Type political activist When to use this quote - election campaigns - activism - public policy Key Concepts civil rights media strategy Questions to Reflect On - What are the real barriers to LGBTQ equality? - How can activism stay focused on core issues? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers beyond rhetoric. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Women's liberation and empowerment are terms feminists started using to talk about casting off the limitations imposed upon women and demanding equality. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/women-s-liberation-and-empowerment-are-terms-feminists-started-using/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Without a doubt there are some women who feel their most sexual with their vaginas waxed, their labia trimmed, their breasts enlarged, and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/without-a-doubt-there-are-some-women-who-feel-their-most-sexual-with/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“We skipped over the part where we just accept and respect that some women like to seem exhibitionistic and lickerish, and decided instead that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/we-skipped-over-the-part-where-we-just-accept-and-respect-that-some/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [“My rights are not derived from any government. My rights are not denied by any majority. My rights are because I exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/my-rights-are-not-derived-from-any-government-my-rights-are-not/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [I have been the victim of many of the injustices that women who are my clients have had. That is how I understand how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-allred/i-have-been-the-victim-of-many-of-the-injustices-that-women-who-are/) [Gloria Allred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-allred/) > [We see all around the world where women's rights are denied, where governments don't believe in educating their girls. There are 800 million people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/we-see-all-around-the-world-where-women-s-rights-are-denied-where/) [Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/) > [Are you kidding me? It's insane that civil rights are being denied people in this day and age. It's embarrassing, and it's heartbreaking. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-evans/are-you-kidding-me-it-s-insane-that-civil-rights-are-being-denied/) [Chris Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-evans/) > [We know that if one man's rights are denied, the rights of all are endangered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/we-know-that-if-one-man-s-rights-are-denied-the-rights-of-all-are/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [I like aggressive and sexually liberated women. It's hot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cee-lo-green/i-like-aggressive-and-sexually-liberated-women-it-s-hot-to-me/) [Cee Lo Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cee-lo-green/) > [“What's the use of being sexually liberated, if no one else wants you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-valentine/what-s-the-use-of-being-sexually-liberated-if-no-one-else-wants-you/) [John Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-valentine/) > [I like to have fun. I'm definitely sexually liberated and all that good stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cee-lo-green/i-like-to-have-fun-i-m-definitely-sexually-liberated-and-all-that/) [Cee Lo Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cee-lo-green/) > [I'm a sexually liberated woman that earned that liberation. I am very proud of the fact that I feel comfortable in certain forums discussing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennifer-flowers/i-m-a-sexually-liberated-woman-that-earned-that-liberation-i-am-very/) [Gennifer Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennifer-flowers/) > [“While fighting to survive the intense stream of information while trying to manage expectations and live up to standards, our inner self feels threatened.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-o-brien/while-fighting-to-survive-the-intense-stream-of-information-while/) [Alan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-o-brien/) > [Only a fool makes threats, and only another fool feels threatened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/only-a-fool-makes-threats-and-only-another-fool-feels-threatened/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Ariel Levy > [This thinking that you can have every single thing you want in life is not the thinking of a feminist. It's the thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/this-thinking-that-you-can-have-every-single-thing-you-want-in-life/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [No one could save me from the grief of losing my child or losing my first marriage. I had to do that on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/no-one-could-save-me-from-the-grief-of-losing-my-child-or-losing-my/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“chest—I could hear him denigrating Obama at the top of his lungs, which seemed to make Mary only slightly less uncomfortable than it made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/chest-i-could-hear-him-denigrating-obama-at-the-top-of-his-lungs/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“A real editor isn't just someone you work with; he's your guide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/a-real-editor-isn-t-just-someone-you-work-with-he-s-your-guide/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Death comes for us. You may get ten minutes on this earth or you may get eighty years but nobody gets out alive. Accepting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/death-comes-for-us-you-may-get-ten-minutes-on-this-earth-or-you-may/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Writing was the solution to every problem—financial, emotional, intellectual. It had kept me company when I was a lonely child. It gave me an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/writing-was-the-solution-to-every-problem-financial-emotional/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“These are not stories about girls getting what they want sexually, they are stories about girls gaining acclaim socially, for which their sexuality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/these-are-not-stories-about-girls-getting-what-they-want-sexually/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“We want a mate who feels like family and a lover who is exotic, surprising.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/we-want-a-mate-who-feels-like-family-and-a-lover-who-is-exotic/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Life is uncooperative, impartial, incontestable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/life-is-uncooperative-impartial-incontestable/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [A wedding, a great wedding, is just a blast. A celebration of romance and community and love... What is unfun about that? Nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/a-wedding-a-great-wedding-is-just-a-blast-a-celebration-of-romance/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Instead of trying to reform other people's - or her own - perception of feminist, the FCP likes to position herself as something outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/instead-of-trying-to-reform-other-people-s-or-her-own-perception-of/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [For 10 minutes, I was somebody's mother, and that was both the most traumatic and also the most transcendent experience of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/for-10-minutes-i-was-somebody-s-mother-and-that-was-both-the-most/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“We shared an explosive enthusiasm that we blasted out of our bodies with alcohol. It was almost a sport. We tore through sobriety together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/we-shared-an-explosive-enthusiasm-that-we-blasted-out-of-our-bodies/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [I haven't really rebelled. I just think my parents were right. I never disagreed with anything that I was brought up with, in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/i-haven-t-really-rebelled-i-just-think-my-parents-were-right-i-never/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [“Sex is one of the most interesting things we as humans have to play with, and we've reduced it to polyester underpants and implants.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/sex-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-things-we-as-humans-have-to-play/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) [Explore all 91 Ariel Levy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) ## More Having sex quotes > [Women fake headaches to get out of having sex with their man, and men fake not being married to have sex with a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/women-fake-headaches-to-get-out-of-having-sex-with-their-man-and-men/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [“having sex with her boss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-henning/having-sex-with-her-boss/) Stephen Henning > [Killing became the same thing as having sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-lee-lucas/killing-became-the-same-thing-as-having-sex/) Henry Lee Lucas > [“I get maudlin. Some people drink; some get depressed; some run around having sex with anyone with a pulse. Me, I get philosophical. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/i-get-maudlin-some-people-drink-some-get-depressed-some-run-around/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [“Kerry had headed up the back stairs of the pub, and even as exhausted as she was, she’d still found it impossible to wipe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/kerry-had-headed-up-the-back-stairs-of-the-pub-and-even-as-exhausted/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [Never film yourself having sex. You think you'll look powerful and vital, but you don't. You look like a sick, shivering polar bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/never-film-yourself-having-sex-you-think-you-ll-look-powerful-and/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [“To be clear, the Roman Empire didn’t end because everybody was having sex. No civilization was ever toppled by “too much sexy time”—except for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-wright/to-be-clear-the-roman-empire-didn-t-end-because-everybody-was-having/) [Jennifer Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-wright/) > [I agree that biphobia is real, but I think it's absolutely worth considering that someone who "despises" having sex with her husband - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/i-agree-that-biphobia-is-real-but-i-think-it-s-absolutely-worth/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) > [“Finally, Beth said, "I thought you already were a couple." "No. We were having sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-osburn/finally-beth-said-i-thought-you-already-were-a-couple-no-we-were/) [Terri Osburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-osburn/) > [At Ohio State University, to avoid being guilty of 'sexual assault' or 'sexual violence,' you and your partner now apparently have to agree on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/at-ohio-state-university-to-avoid-being-guilty-of-sexual-assault-or/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [For the record, Claire Marsden and I are not having sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mayberry/for-the-record-claire-marsden-and-i-are-not-having-sex/) [Sarah Mayberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mayberry/) > [I think that a lot of men, especially once they're married, feel like their girl is just who she is, so don't treat her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dice-clay/i-think-that-a-lot-of-men-especially-once-they-re-married-feel-like/) [Andrew Dice Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dice-clay/) > [“You don't just decide to have sex because you feel like having sex. You decide to have sex once you realize you're in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mlynowski/you-don-t-just-decide-to-have-sex-because-you-feel-like-having-sex/) [Sarah Mlynowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mlynowski/) > [Smoking one cigarette shortens your life by 14 minutes, but having sex lengthens it by 12 minutes. So smokers: screw for your lives!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/smoking-one-cigarette-shortens-your-life-by-14-minutes-but-having-sex/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Heavy petting, that was fun! That was good. And frankly, you know I wish kids would go back to it. It's very satisfying. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/heavy-petting-that-was-fun-that-was-good-and-frankly-you-know-i-wish/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) Browse all 559 Having sex quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If half this country feels so threatened by two people of the same gender being in love and having sex (and, incidentally, enjoying equal protection under the law), that they turn their attention—during wartime—to blocking rights already denied to homosexuals, then all the cardio striptease classes in the world aren’t going to render us sexually liberated.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ariel Levy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened-by-two-people-of-the-same/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Having sex" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened-by-two-people-of-the-same/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/ariel-levy-7405_having-sex_if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened_1607375.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/ariel-levy-7405_having-sex_if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened_1607375.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/ariel-levy-7405_having-sex_if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened_1607375.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If half this country feels so threatened by two people of the same gender being in love and having sex (and…” — Ariel Levy", "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": "Ariel Levy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If half this country feels so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened-by-two-people-of-the-same/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/if-half-this-country-feels-so-threatened-by-two-people-of-the-same/#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 } } ] } ```