--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine that for hundreds of years your…" description: "\"Imagine that for hundreds of years your most formative traumas, your daily suffering and pain, the abuse you live through, the terror you live with, ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/catharine-mackinnon-18414_abuse_imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your_2053430.jpg" --- # Imagine that for hundreds of years your most formative… ![“Imagine that for hundreds of years your most formative traumas, your daily suffering and pain, the abuse you live through, the terror you live with, are unspeakable - not the basis of literature. You grow up with your father holding you down and covering your mouth so another man can make a…” quote by Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/catharine-mackinnon-18414_abuse_imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your_2053430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/catharine-mackinnon-18414_abuse_imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your_2053430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/catharine-mackinnon-18414_abuse_imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your_2053430.jpg) > “Imagine that for hundreds of years your most formative traumas, your daily suffering and pain, the abuse you live through, the terror you live with, are unspeakable - not the basis of literature. You grow up with your father holding you down and covering your mouth so another man can make a horrible searing pain between your legs… You learn how to leave your body and create someone else who takes over when you cannot stand it any more. You develop a self who is ingratiating and obsequious and imitative and aggressively passive and silent - you learn, in a word, femininity.” [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring trauma can shape identity, leading to coping mechanisms that mimic prescribed gender roles, while silencing pain. **In simple terms:** Trauma influences identity and gendered behavior. Key Takeaway Address trauma to reclaim agency. Themes trauma identity gender roles Mood somber empathetic Type psychological social When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - education on gender norms Key Concepts psychology social conditioning silence Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect healing? - What alternatives to passive coping exist? A Different Perspective Healing may be hindered by societal stigma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) [Another man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-man/) [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Covering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covering/) [Develop Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/develop-self-709941/) [Down and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-and/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Femininity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/femininity/) [Formative Traumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formative-traumas-3881057/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Horrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-that/) [Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legs/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mouths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouths/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-abuse-400743/) [Passive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passive/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering and pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-and-pain/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma/) [Unspeakable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unspeakable/) [Word Femininity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-femininity-3881056/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Your body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-body/) ## Related quotes > [The pain from the abuse never went away, I just embraced it to become what I am today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-long/the-pain-from-the-abuse-never-went-away-i-just-embraced-it-to-become/) [Timothy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-long/) > [I would rather be abused. I would rather get hurt. I would rather feel pain, because without the abuse, the hurt, the pain, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/music/i-would-rather-be-abused-i-would-rather-get-hurt-i-would-rather-feel/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/music/) > [The pain from the abuse never went away, you just embraced it to become what you are today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-pain-from-the-abuse-never-went-away-you-just-embraced-it-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You are at liberty to develop yourself when you are self employed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-at-liberty-to-develop-yourself-when-you-are-self-employed/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Develop Self-confidence, then love will fol­low; it will come naturally from within. And that way the love will be pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/develop-self-confidence-then-love-will-fol-low-it-will-come-naturally/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [“Once you feel nice about yourself, you have planted the first seed to develop self-confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/once-you-feel-nice-about-yourself-you-have-planted-the-first-seed-to/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“My coach knew there was only one way to develop (self esteem): You give children something they can't do, they work hard until they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/my-coach-knew-there-was-only-one-way-to-develop-self-esteem-you-give/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [Autonomy... is freedom to develop one's self - to increase one's knowledge, improve one's skills, and achieve responsibility for one's conduct. And it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/autonomy-is-freedom-to-develop-one-s-self-to-increase-one-s-knowledge/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [What's helpful is develop a self-esteem, feel good about yourself, feel like you're a whole, complete person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hoover/what-s-helpful-is-develop-a-self-esteem-feel-good-about-yourself-feel/) [Margaret Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hoover/) > [“Find ways to develop self-awareness so you know what you do well... you do a thousand things brilliantly, and if you don't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-sellers/find-ways-to-develop-self-awareness-so-you-know-what-you-do-well-you/) [Heather Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-sellers/) > [“We can use techniques to become our selves and to develop the self. Techniques are different from the roles our narcissistic parents assume to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elan-golomb/we-can-use-techniques-to-become-our-selves-and-to-develop-the-self/) [Elan Golomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elan-golomb/) > [The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/the-way-to-develop-self-confidence-is-to-do-the-thing-you-fear-and/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [“If you develop self-criticism, it won't be that much harder to receive the criticism of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/if-you-develop-self-criticism-it-won-t-be-that-much-harder-to-receive/) [Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/) > [The art of adulthood is to develop self-confidence without arrogance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-fuller/the-art-of-adulthood-is-to-develop-self-confidence-without-arrogance/) [Andrew Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-fuller/) > [“These ideas fit the experience of these Japanese women who often talked about searching for or trying to develop "self" (jibun). Cultivating or polishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-ross-rosenberger/these-ideas-fit-the-experience-of-these-japanese-women-who-often/) [Nancy Ross Rosenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-ross-rosenberger/) ## More by Catharine MacKinnon > [Power is being able to say complete and utter nonsense and have it be believed, powerlessness is where no matter how much cogent evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/power-is-being-able-to-say-complete-and-utter-nonsense-and-have-it-be/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [What postmodernism gives us instead is a multicultural defense for male violence - a defense for it wherever it is, which in effect is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/what-postmodernism-gives-us-instead-is-a-multicultural-defense-for/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [You grow up with your father holding you down and covering your mouth so another man can make a horrible searing pain between your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/you-grow-up-with-your-father-holding-you-down-and-covering-your-mouth/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [Feminism, Socialism, and Communism are one in the same, and Socialist/Communist government is the goal of feminism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/feminism-socialism-and-communism-are-one-in-the-same-and-socialist/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [Empirically, all pornography is made under conditions of inequality based on sex, overwhelmingly by poor, desperate, homeless, pimped women who were sexually abused as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/empirically-all-pornography-is-made-under-conditions-of-inequality/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [So the idea that there is nothing essential, in the sense that there are no human universals, is dogma. Ask most anyone who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/so-the-idea-that-there-is-nothing-essential-in-the-sense-that-there/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/women-and-men-are-divided-by-gender-made-into-the-sexes-as-we-know/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [“Division may be rational or irrational. Dominance either seems or is justified. Difference is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/division-may-be-rational-or-irrational-dominance-either-seems-or-is/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [Stopped as attribute of a person, sex inequality takes the form of gender; moving as a relation between people, it takes the form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/stopped-as-attribute-of-a-person-sex-inequality-takes-the-form-of/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [Postmodernism is an academic theory, originating in academia with an academic elite, not in the world of women and men, where feminist theory is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/postmodernism-is-an-academic-theory-originating-in-academia-with-an/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [In my opinion, no feminism worthy of the name is not methodologically post-marxist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/in-my-opinion-no-feminism-worthy-of-the-name-is-not-methodologically/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [If you want to know who is being hurt in this society, go see what is being done and to whom in pornography and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/if-you-want-to-know-who-is-being-hurt-in-this-society-go-see-what-is/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [To be a prisoner means to be defined as a member of a group for whom the rules of what can be done to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/to-be-a-prisoner-means-to-be-defined-as-a-member-of-a-group-for-whom/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [The arena of logic was made by men for men; it was expressly founded on the exclusion of what is not male, as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/the-arena-of-logic-was-made-by-men-for-men-it-was-expressly-founded/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) > [Instead of being lionized and admired for her genius, instead of being able to earn a decent living as a writer, Andrea Dworkin was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/instead-of-being-lionized-and-admired-for-her-genius-instead-of-being/) [Catharine MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) [Explore all 35 Catharine MacKinnon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/) ## More Abuse quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Being nice is okay,but don't allow anybody to abuse it...try to fight for your self when you know your on the right way...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-is-okay-but-don-t-allow-anybody-to-abuse-it-try-to-fight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Build a bridge over shame by teaching kids about sexual abuse. Give them a chance to run to us should they encounter it. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-byers-ruch/build-a-bridge-over-shame-by-teaching-kids-about-sexual-abuse-give/) [Carolyn Byers Ruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-byers-ruch/) > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-have-a-theory-that-all-abuse-no-matter-what-kind-of-abuse-it-is-is/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Stand up for yourself. Never give any one permission to abuse you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/stand-up-for-yourself-never-give-any-one-permission-to-abuse-you/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/all-governments-should-be-pressured-to-correct-their-abuses-of-human/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [“Words are free. It does not mean you should abuse them. Be kind with them. They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) [Browse all 3,113 Abuse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imagine that for hundreds of years your most formative traumas, your daily suffering and pain, the abuse you live through, the terror you live with, are unspeakable - not the basis of literature. You grow up with your father holding you down and covering your mouth so another man can make a horrible searing pain between your legs… You learn how to leave your body and create someone else who takes over when you cannot stand it any more. You develop a self who is ingratiating and obsequious and imitative and aggressively passive and silent - you learn, in a word, femininity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catharine MacKinnon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your-most-formative-traumas-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abuse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your-most-formative-traumas-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/catharine-mackinnon-18414_abuse_imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your_2053430.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/catharine-mackinnon-18414_abuse_imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your_2053430.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23b/catharine-mackinnon-18414_abuse_imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your_2053430.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagine that for hundreds of years your most formative traumas, your daily suffering and pain, the abuse you…” — Catharine MacKinnon", "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": "Catharine MacKinnon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-mackinnon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Imagine that for hundreds of years...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your-most-formative-traumas-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-mackinnon/imagine-that-for-hundreds-of-years-your-most-formative-traumas-your/#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 } } ] } ```