--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What family you were born into matters so…" description: "\"What family you were born into matters so much more than it did before in a perverse way.\" — David Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/david-brooks-644_born_what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-s_1411706.png" --- # What family you were born into matters so much more than… ![“What family you were born into matters so much more than it did before in a perverse way.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/david-brooks-644_born_what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-s_1411706.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/david-brooks-644_born_what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-s_1411706.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/david-brooks-644_born_what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-s_1411706.png) > “What family you were born into matters so much more than it did before in a perverse way.” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Social class now shapes opportunities more rigidly, limiting mobility and reinforcing inequality. **In simple terms:** Class matters more now. Key Takeaway Recognize and address systemic barriers. Themes inequality mobility class structure Mood reflective serious Type analytical critical When to use this quote - education - employment - housing - political policy Key Concepts sociology structuralism Questions to Reflect On - How does class influence your life choices? - What can be done to reduce class barriers? A Different Perspective Class alone cannot determine destiny; personal effort matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Perverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perverse/) ## Related quotes > [Identifying pain in others was easy for me. I was drawn to it in some strange perverse way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/identifying-pain-in-others-was-easy-for-me-i-was-drawn-to-it-in-some/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [The society that destroys its children is eating its own tail, committing suicide in the most perverse way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/the-society-that-destroys-its-children-is-eating-its-own-tail/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [I found that in a perverse way our culture and parents are far more comfortable talking about girls' vicitimization than girls' sexual agency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-orenstein/i-found-that-in-a-perverse-way-our-culture-and-parents-are-far-more/) [Peggy Orenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-orenstein/) > [“it is the family you make, not the one you are born into, that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/it-is-the-family-you-make-not-the-one-you-are-born-into-that-matters/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“So why had he come? He'd said he'd had no choice, but for centuries men had chopped off their own limbs, faked insanity, gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-wilson/so-why-had-he-come-he-d-said-he-d-had-no-choice-but-for-centuries-men/) Dominique Wilson > [“It does not matter the circumstance of your birth nor the family your born to. What matters is you are in this world. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-does-not-matter-the-circumstance-of-your-birth-nor-the-family-your/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [And you know, almost in a perverse way, I wish it had been undue influence because we know how to correct that. We get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kay/and-you-know-almost-in-a-perverse-way-i-wish-it-had-been-undue/) [David Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kay/) > [Ninth generation American, ma'am, and I'm the first one in my family born with all my rights. I'm a ninth generation American. And so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/ninth-generation-american-ma-am-and-i-m-the-first-one-in-my-family/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [“The family we're born into is important, sure, but they're not all we have. They're not all we are. A part of life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/the-family-we-re-born-into-is-important-sure-but-they-re-not-all-we/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [“The family we're born into is important, sure, but they're not all we have. They're not all we are. A part of life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/the-family-we-re-born-into-is-important-sure-but-they-re-not-all-we-2/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [There's so much more to family than what you're born into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-hope-fletcher/there-s-so-much-more-to-family-than-what-you-re-born-into/) [Carrie Hope Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-hope-fletcher/) > [You are born into your family and your family is born into you. No returns. No exchanges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/you-are-born-into-your-family-and-your-family-is-born-into-you-no/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [The family you are born into is by chance and I am fortunate to be born into this family and be connected to some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soha-ali-khan/the-family-you-are-born-into-is-by-chance-and-i-am-fortunate-to-be/) [Soha Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soha-ali-khan/) > [“Two things we have no control:The family in which you were born it to and the name you were given at birth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/two-things-we-have-no-control-the-family-in-which-you-were-born-it-to/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“You dumb-ass ape, get your hand off me. What—are you the first in your family to be born without a tail?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/you-dumb-ass-ape-get-your-hand-off-me-what-are-you-the-first-in-your/) [Cherise Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. It is probably impossible to look at a map of brain activity and predict or even understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-brain-is-not-the-mind-it-is-probably-impossible-to-look-at-a-map/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [When you're running for president, you're a guest in the living room for four years. And if people don't think you're going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/when-you-re-running-for-president-you-re-a-guest-in-the-living-room/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“I’ve come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-ve-come-to-think-that-flourishing-consists-of-putting-yourself-in/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [We have rapidly increasing technology, which is making life very good for people who are good at using words, and not so good for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/we-have-rapidly-increasing-technology-which-is-making-life-very-good/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I think Barack Obama's foreign policy will be regarded more failure than success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-think-barack-obama-s-foreign-policy-will-be-regarded-more-failure/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If you know that most processing is below the level of awareness, you learn the value of sleep. 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I think free trade has been wonderful for America on balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/trade-has-suddenly-become-massively-unpopular-i-think-that-s/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Politics is based on social identity, and so, again, there is going to be differences between rural and urban and between left and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/politics-is-based-on-social-identity-and-so-again-there-is-going-to/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Pain now is better than pain deferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/pain-now-is-better-than-pain-deferred/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/it-s-worth-noting-that-you-can-devote-your-life-to-community-service/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If it feels all right for you, it's probably OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-it-feels-all-right-for-you-it-s-probably-ok/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I do think Donald Trump is a fundamentally unstabilizing force and that the people who swore to uphold the Constitution are going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-do-think-donald-trump-is-a-fundamentally-unstabilizing-force-and/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. He is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/tim-kaine-has-been-obviously-a-governor-he-s-been-a-senator-he-s-one/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“Women, in general, are less visually aroused than men, a trait that has nearly cut the market for pornography in half.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/women-in-general-are-less-visually-aroused-than-men-a-trait-that-has/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. I have another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-wasn-t-born-with-a-tie-or-with-mark-shields-stapled-to-my-left-hip/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) [Explore all 431 David Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) Browse all 11,606 Born quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What family you were born into matters so much more than it did before in a perverse way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-so-much-more-than-it-did/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Born" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-so-much-more-than-it-did/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/david-brooks-644_born_what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-s_1411706.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/david-brooks-644_born_what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-s_1411706.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee7/david-brooks-644_born_what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-s_1411706.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What family you were born into matters so much more than it did before in a perverse way.” — David Brooks", "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": "David Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What family you were born into...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-so-much-more-than-it-did/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/what-family-you-were-born-into-matters-so-much-more-than-it-did/#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 } } ] } ```