--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is too much ideological conformity…" description: "\"There is too much ideological conformity in gender studies. The true-believers fashion the theories, write the textbooks and teach the students. When j..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/christina-hoff-sommers-18174_academic_there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity_1449267.png" --- # There is too much ideological conformity in gender… ![“There is too much ideological conformity in gender studies. The true-believers fashion the theories, write the textbooks and teach the students. When journalists, policymakers, and legislators address topics such as the wage gap, gender and education, or women's health, they turn to these experts…” quote by Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/christina-hoff-sommers-18174_academic_there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity_1449267.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/christina-hoff-sommers-18174_academic_there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity_1449267.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/christina-hoff-sommers-18174_academic_there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity_1449267.png) > “There is too much ideological conformity in gender studies. The true-believers fashion the theories, write the textbooks and teach the students. When journalists, policymakers, and legislators address topics such as the wage gap, gender and education, or women's health, they turn to these experts for enlightenment. For the most part, they peddle misinformation, victim politics, and sophistry. They claim that their teachings represent the academic consensus, but that is only because they have excluded all dissenters.” [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gender studies often suppress dissenting views, leading to conformity and misinformation in policy and media. **In simple terms:** Conformity silences dissent, spreading misinformation. Key Takeaway Encourage diverse perspectives in academia. Themes academia gender studies conformity misinformation policy Mood critical analytical Type political academic When to use this quote - university curricula - media analysis - legislative briefings - public debates Key Concepts critical theory epistemic diversity Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports or contradicts this claim? - How can academia balance rigor with inclusivity? A Different Perspective Some argue that dissent can undermine progress toward equity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Addresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addresses/) [Age gap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-gap/) [Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Conformity Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity-gender-5207237/) [Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Excluded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excluded/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Gaps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaps/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Gender Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-education-5207236/) [Gender Studies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-studies-843462/) [Ideological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideological/) [Ideological Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideological-conformity-4074952/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Legislators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislators/) [Misinformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misinformation/) [Sophistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophistry/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Textbooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/textbooks/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Topics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/topics/) [True believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-believer/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) [Women 's health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-s-health/) [Women's Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/womens-health/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Ideological conformity depends on conditions of prosperity; it has no staying-power of its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mattick/ideological-conformity-depends-on-conditions-of-prosperity-it-has-no/) [Paul Mattick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mattick/) > [The example of Russia reminds us that keeping up that enormous dead weight of the security apparatus required to enforce the ideological conformity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-example-of-russia-reminds-us-that-keeping-up-that-enormous-dead/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We can let the east coast have their ivory towers. We can let the west coast have a generation of gender studies majors. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tate-reeves/we-can-let-the-east-coast-have-their-ivory-towers-we-can-let-the-west/) [Tate Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tate-reeves/) > [I'm pretty sure Magic Mike' is the best funded gender studies thesis ever so I'm going to have to see that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-m-pretty-sure-magic-mike-is-the-best-funded-gender-studies-thesis/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Creating whole departments of ethnic, gender, and other 'studies' was part of the price of academic peace. All too often, these 'studies' are about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/creating-whole-departments-of-ethnic-gender-and-other-studies-was/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Normally when I tell people I'm a gender studies major, they look at me like I'm studying Sanskrit or Latin. But now, NOW I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-henderson/normally-when-i-tell-people-i-m-a-gender-studies-major-they-look-at/) [Danielle Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-henderson/) > [One of the favorite things I've learned about Michigan State is that they set up a 'Women's course' in 1896. It sounds like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/one-of-the-favorite-things-i-ve-learned-about-michigan-state-is-that/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [Forty-year-old seems to be nothing without the father's advice. Father to learn properlythe huge age gap that hurts a lot. Why do not understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/forty-year-old-seems-to-be-nothing-without-the-father-s-advice-father/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [My mom was right. That's one hell of an age gap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tyler/my-mom-was-right-that-s-one-hell-of-an-age-gap/) [Rose Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tyler/) > [It's not like I'm some kind of veteran and there is this huge age gap. I identify with them more off the field. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-zito/it-s-not-like-i-m-some-kind-of-veteran-and-there-is-this-huge-age-gap/) [Barry Zito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-zito/) > [For women the wage gap sets up an infuriating Catch-22 situation. They do the housework because they earn less, and they earn less because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-ann-hewitt/for-women-the-wage-gap-sets-up-an-infuriating-catch-22-situation-they-2/) [Sylvia Ann Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-ann-hewitt/) > [We have required under law for years that men and women get paid equal money for equal work. But we've faced challenges enforcing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-frankel/we-have-required-under-law-for-years-that-men-and-women-get-paid/) [Lois Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-frankel/) > [For women the wage gap sets up an infuriating Catch-22 situation. They do the housework because they earn less, and they earn lessbecause they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-ann-hewlett/for-women-the-wage-gap-sets-up-an-infuriating-catch-22-situation-they/) [Sylvia Ann Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-ann-hewlett/) > [The raw wage gap number is not a measure of equal pay for equal work. It is a comparison of averages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/the-raw-wage-gap-number-is-not-a-measure-of-equal-pay-for-equal-work/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) ## More by Christina Hoff Sommers > [Any child may go through periods during which they become less outspoken with their parents or teachers. But girls, like boys, live in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/any-child-may-go-through-periods-during-which-they-become-less/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [In reality, American girls are among the most outspoken, ambitious, successful girls in the history of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/in-reality-american-girls-are-among-the-most-outspoken-ambitious/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [I think the fallacy is to think that Women's Liberation meant that men and women would become interchangeable. That has not happened, and most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/i-think-the-fallacy-is-to-think-that-women-s-liberation-meant-that/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [I think the rules will change and I think more and more young women are going to decide that having a family and taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/i-think-the-rules-will-change-and-i-think-more-and-more-young-women/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [There is a theory behind the culture of victimhood: It's called "intersectionality." This theory posits that racism, sexism, classism, ableism, etc. are interconnected, overlapping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/there-is-a-theory-behind-the-culture-of-victimhood-it-s-called/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [Harvard produces leaders. People with Harvard degrees go on to become administrators in high-level positions in state educational departments and in public schools around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/harvard-produces-leaders-people-with-harvard-degrees-go-on-to-become/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [I'm concerned that boys have become politically incorrect, that we are a society in the process of turning against its male children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/i-m-concerned-that-boys-have-become-politically-incorrect-that-we-are/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [I don't think anyone will deny that girls are academically superior as a group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/i-don-t-think-anyone-will-deny-that-girls-are-academically-superior/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [Girls are more academically powerful. They make the grades, they run the student activities, they are the valedictorians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/girls-are-more-academically-powerful-they-make-the-grades-they-run/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [ “I call \[fourth-wave feminism\] fainting–couch feminism, a la the delicate Victorian ladies who retreated to an elegant chaise when overcome with emotion. As an… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/i-call-fourth-wave-feminism-fainting-couch-feminism-a-la-the-delicate/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [We reject creationism because there is no evidence to support it. By contrast, the notion that biology is at least partially the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/we-reject-creationism-because-there-is-no-evidence-to-support-it-by/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [So far there has been little discussion among gender scholars about the need to engage with skeptics. They tend to view skeptics and dissenters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/so-far-there-has-been-little-discussion-among-gender-scholars-about/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [“Truth brought to public light recruits the best of us to work for change. On the other hand, even the best-intentioned "noble lie" ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/truth-brought-to-public-light-recruits-the-best-of-us-to-work-for/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > ["Marginalized others" have access to other ways of knowing, and therefore to deeper, more authentic truths about human reality. They can share that knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/marginalized-others-have-access-to-other-ways-of-knowing-and/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) > [We must have moral education in the schools, anti-bullying programs, but this does not mean programs to feminize boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/we-must-have-moral-education-in-the-schools-anti-bullying-programs/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) [Explore all 35 Christina Hoff Sommers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/) [Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/) > [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is too much ideological conformity in gender studies. The true-believers fashion the theories, write the textbooks and teach the students. When journalists, policymakers, and legislators address topics such as the wage gap, gender and education, or women's health, they turn to these experts for enlightenment. For the most part, they peddle misinformation, victim politics, and sophistry. They claim that their teachings represent the academic consensus, but that is only because they have excluded all dissenters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christina Hoff Sommers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity-in-gender-studies-the-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity-in-gender-studies-the-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/christina-hoff-sommers-18174_academic_there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity_1449267.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/christina-hoff-sommers-18174_academic_there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity_1449267.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/christina-hoff-sommers-18174_academic_there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity_1449267.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is too much ideological conformity in gender studies. The true-believers fashion the theories, write…” — Christina Hoff Sommers", "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": "Christina Hoff Sommers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is too much ideological conformity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity-in-gender-studies-the-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/there-is-too-much-ideological-conformity-in-gender-studies-the-true/#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 } } ] } ```