--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well into the 19th century there were…" description: "\"Well into the 19th century there were pronouncements from just about every branch of science and medicine that reading, writing, and thinking were dang..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/dale-spender-23574_19th-century_well-into-the-19th-century-there-were-pr_2101450.jpg" --- # Well into the 19th century there were pronouncements from… ![“Well into the 19th century there were pronouncements from just about every branch of science and medicine that reading, writing, and thinking were dangerous for women. Articles in the Lancet declared that women's brains would burst and their uteruses atrophy if they engaged in any form of rigorous…” quote by Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/dale-spender-23574_19th-century_well-into-the-19th-century-there-were-pr_2101450.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/dale-spender-23574_19th-century_well-into-the-19th-century-there-were-pr_2101450.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/dale-spender-23574_19th-century_well-into-the-19th-century-there-were-pr_2101450.jpg) > “Well into the 19th century there were pronouncements from just about every branch of science and medicine that reading, writing, and thinking were dangerous for women. Articles in the Lancet declared that women's brains would burst and their uteruses atrophy if they engaged in any form of rigorous thinking. The famous physician J.D. Kellogg insisted that novel reading was the greatest cause of uterine disease among young women and urged parents to protect their daughters from the dreaded consequences of print.” [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical medical myths claimed that intellectual activity harmed women's health, reflecting gender bias in science. **In simple terms:** Women were falsely told thinking was dangerous. Key Takeaway Challenge and stereotypes with evidence. Themes gender bias science history women's health intellectual freedom Mood frustrated determined hopeful Type historical critical educational When to use this quote - education reform - women's rights activism - public health policy - academic curricula Key Concepts patriarchal medicine social control cognitive myth Questions to Reflect On - How did such myths affect women's education opportunities? - What evidence disproves these historical claims? A Different Perspective These claims were based on limited data and cultural prejudice, not rigorous science. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-reading/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sexism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexism/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Young women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-women/) ## Related quotes > [My brother used to say that when you deal with women, it's difficult to remove emotions from an argument. I never really knew what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-fillion/my-brother-used-to-say-that-when-you-deal-with-women-it-s-difficult/) [Nathan Fillion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-fillion/) > [When we consider that each of us has only one life to live, isn’t it rather tragic to find men and women, with brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-consider-that-each-of-us-has-only-one-life-to-live-isn-t-it-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most men - not just the men in Brentwood - are scared of powerful women with brains. There's something in a man that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-marsh/most-men-not-just-the-men-in-brentwood-are-scared-of-powerful-women/) [Jodie Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-marsh/) > [“When we consider that each of us has only one life to live, isn’t it rather tragic to find men and women, with brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/when-we-consider-that-each-of-us-has-only-one-life-to-live-isn-t-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The Lord gave women brains to tell men how to use their muscles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-st-felix/the-lord-gave-women-brains-to-tell-men-how-to-use-their-muscles/) Donna St. Felix > [When I'm happy, when I'm enjoying life, I'm home, I'm surfing, I'm spending time with my wife, my friends and I'm not thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/when-i-m-happy-when-i-m-enjoying-life-i-m-home-i-m-surfing-i-m/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [We should think more about it, and accustom ourselves to the thought of death. We can't allow the fear of death to creep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/we-should-think-more-about-it-and-accustom-ourselves-to-the-thought/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [The road to Hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-unbought-stuffed-dogs/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whether you are in the West, the East, the North, or the South, we should all feel pressured to attempt more, find new ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/whether-you-are-in-the-west-the-east-the-north-or-the-south-we-should/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I don't freestyle, but when I'm writing and thinking, sometimes things pop up - that's basically a freestyle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-benjamin/i-don-t-freestyle-but-when-i-m-writing-and-thinking-sometimes-things/) [Andre Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-benjamin/) > [Cognitive consonance is what writing in the Age of the idiot is all about. The key to success in the scribbling profession is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/cognitive-consonance-is-what-writing-in-the-age-of-the-idiot-is-all/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) ## More by Dale Spender > [“Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/feminism-has-fought-no-wars-it-has-killed-no-opponents-it-has-set-up/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/feminism-has-fought-no-wars-it-has-killed-no-opponents-it-has-set-up-2/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [men have been in charge of according value to literature, and ... they have found the contributions of their own sex immeasurably superior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/men-have-been-in-charge-of-according-value-to-literature-and-they/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [Womens humor is part of the revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/womens-humor-is-part-of-the-revolution/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [The talkativeness of women has been gauged in comparison not with men but with silence. Women have not been judged on the grounds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/the-talkativeness-of-women-has-been-gauged-in-comparison-not-with-men/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [Paradoxically, the most constructive thing women can do is to write, for in the act of writing we deny our muteness and begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/paradoxically-the-most-constructive-thing-women-can-do-is-to-write/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [Men who teach only men are called scholars. Women who teach only women are called political agitators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/men-who-teach-only-men-are-called-scholars-women-who-teach-only-women/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [For centuries women have been saying many of the things we are saying today and which we have often thought of as new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/for-centuries-women-have-been-saying-many-of-the-things-we-are-saying/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [men have their cake and get to eat it too, for while they decree themselves as representative of humanity, women who argue that men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/men-have-their-cake-and-get-to-eat-it-too-for-while-they-decree/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [Feminism has fought no wars ... killed no opponents ... set up no concentration camps ... starved no enemies ... practiced no cruelty. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/feminism-has-fought-no-wars-killed-no-opponents-set-up-no/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [There is a real split today between those who push the button and those who do the dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/there-is-a-real-split-today-between-those-who-push-the-button-and/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [When women are supposed to be quiet, a talkative woman is a woman who talks at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/when-women-are-supposed-to-be-quiet-a-talkative-woman-is-a-woman-who/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [Language is not neutral. It is not merely a vehicle which carries ideas. It is itself a shaper of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/language-is-not-neutral-it-is-not-merely-a-vehicle-which-carries/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [what has been termed 'correct' English is nothing other than the blatant legitimation of the white middle-class code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/what-has-been-termed-correct-english-is-nothing-other-than-the/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [Openly questioning the way the world works and challenging the power of the powerful is not an activity customarily rewarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/openly-questioning-the-way-the-world-works-and-challenging-the-power/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) [Explore all 25 Dale Spender quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) ## More 19th century quotes > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. 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(at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [By tracing the careers of the four members of the Philosophical Breakfast Club, Laura Snyder has found a wonderful way not just to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-standage/by-tracing-the-careers-of-the-four-members-of-the-philosophical/) [Tom Standage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-standage/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [ . . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured \[England\] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/luddites-were-those-frenzied-traditionalists-of-the-early-19th/) [James A. 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I don't think that today's women see motherhood as a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/an-ethic-of-maternalism-was-central-to-the-utopianism-of-19th-century/) Clare Wright Browse all 383 19th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well into the 19th century there were pronouncements from just about every branch of science and medicine that reading, writing, and thinking were dangerous for women. Articles in the Lancet declared that women's brains would burst and their uteruses atrophy if they engaged in any form of rigorous thinking. The famous physician J.D. 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