Divided Quote by Catharine MacKinnon
“Women and men are divided by gender, made into the sexes as we know them, by the social requirements of heterosexuality, which institutionalizes male sexual dominance and female sexual submission.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Sexual Politics, Catharine MacKinnon, 1987
Gender is socially constructed to enforce heterosexual norms, granting men dominance and women submission.
In simple terms: Society builds gender roles that favor male power.
Key Takeaway
Challenge and gender norms.
Themes
gender
power
sexuality
social constructs
Mood
critical
reflective
Type
analytical
political
When to use this quote
- activism
- education
- policy reform
- personal relationships
Key Concepts
feminist theory
heteronormativity
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you see gender expectations shaping your life?
- What would change if power were equal?
A Different Perspective
May overlook individual agency beyond gender categories.
![“Heterosexuality is a die-hard custom through which male-supremacist institutions insure their own perpetuity and control over us. Women are kept, maintained and contained through terror, violence, and the spray of semen...[Lesbianism is] an ideological, political and philosophical means of…” quote by Cheryl Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/71d/cheryl-clarke-66010_customs_heterosexuality-is-a-die-hard-custom-thr_1105346.jpg)
