--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we ask is to be human individuals…" description: "\"What we ask is to be human individuals, however peculiar and unexpected. It is no good saying: \"You are a little girl and therefore you ought to like d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/dorothy-l-sayers-738_answers_what-we-ask-is-to-be-human-individuals-h_529191.jpg" --- # What we ask is to be human individuals, however peculiar… ![“What we ask is to be human individuals, however peculiar and unexpected. It is no good saying: "You are a little girl and therefore you ought to like dolls"; if the answer is, "But I don't," there is no more to be said.” quote by Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/dorothy-l-sayers-738_answers_what-we-ask-is-to-be-human-individuals-h_529191.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/dorothy-l-sayers-738_answers_what-we-ask-is-to-be-human-individuals-h_529191.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/dorothy-l-sayers-738_answers_what-we-ask-is-to-be-human-individuals-h_529191.jpg) > “What we ask is to be human individuals, however peculiar and unexpected. It is no good saying: "You are a little girl and therefore you ought to like dolls"; if the answer is, "But I don't," there is no more to be said.” [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual identity should be respected beyond stereotypes; personal preferences matter regardless of gender expectations. **In simple terms:** Respect personal identity beyond gender stereotypes. Key Takeaway Honor individual choices over societal assumptions. Themes identity gender individuality Mood defiant empathetic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - workplace policies - family dynamics Key Concepts feminism human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can you challenge gender assumptions in daily life? - What supports can you offer to those defying norms? A Different Perspective Stereotypes persist despite awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolls/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Little girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-girl/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [Parenthetically, I have to say, I don't particularly like dolls, nor have I ever liked them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/parenthetically-i-have-to-say-i-don-t-particularly-like-dolls-nor/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [I should say I am far more cleverer than any of the people who put me here. As a matter of fact, I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/i-should-say-i-am-far-more-cleverer-than-any-of-the-people-who-put-me/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Statues are too much like dolls, and dolls are creepy. You keep expecting them to blink. And the ones that smile, like this?" Eve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/statues-are-too-much-like-dolls-and-dolls-are-creepy-you-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To Amalie people were like dolls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willow-rose/to-amalie-people-were-like-dolls/) [Willow Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willow-rose/) > [“People?" As though she'd never heard of such a thing. "They're like dolls. Plastic and shiny and fake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-reeves/people-as-though-she-d-never-heard-of-such-a-thing-they-re-like-dolls/) [Dia Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-reeves/) > [If sex were all, then every trembling hand Could make us squeak, like dolls, the wished-for words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/if-sex-were-all-then-every-trembling-hand-could-make-us-squeak-like/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“They weren’t like dolls, because dolls had no feelings. Kids had feelings, just not any remotely related to yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/they-weren-t-like-dolls-because-dolls-had-no-feelings-kids-had/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [“You mustn't ask too much of human endurance, one must be merciful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-mustn-t-ask-too-much-of-human-endurance-one-must-be-merciful/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I am confident that we can do better than GUIs because the basic problem with them (and with the Linux and Unix interfaces) is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jef-raskin/i-am-confident-that-we-can-do-better-than-guis-because-the-basic/) [Jef Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jef-raskin/) > [Ask any human being alive if they're the same person they were seven years ago and they're going to tell you they aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-alarcon/ask-any-human-being-alive-if-they-re-the-same-person-they-were-seven/) [Daniel Alarcon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-alarcon/) > [I hate it when websites ask, Are you human? Well, no, I'm obviously a T-Rex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-it-when-websites-ask-are-you-human-well-no-i-m-obviously-a-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hate when websites ask me if I am human;..obviosly I am a UNICORN!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-websites-ask-me-if-i-am-human-obviosly-i-am-a-unicorn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To me synchronised swimming is a metaphor for the job of being a girl. They have to fake their smiles, they're made up like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-sciamma/to-me-synchronised-swimming-is-a-metaphor-for-the-job-of-being-a-girl/) [Celine Sciamma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-sciamma/) > [“… as we submit to be dressed like dolls, we never can rise to the stations of duty and usefulness from which they desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-grimke/as-we-submit-to-be-dressed-like-dolls-we-never-can-rise-to-the/) Sarah Grimké > [“It’s hard to feel alone when you’re me, sometimes. Sometimes even the houses crowd me in. I can imagine the people in them, still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-ewell/it-s-hard-to-feel-alone-when-you-re-me-sometimes-sometimes-even-the/) [Katherine Ewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-ewell/) ## More by Dorothy L. Sayers > [“The really essential factors of success in any undertaking are money and opportunity, and as a rule, the man who can make the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-really-essential-factors-of-success-in-any-undertaking-are-money/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“ Peter! Were you looking for a horse-shoe?" "No; I was expecting the horse, but the shoe is a piece of pure, gorgeous luck."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/peter-were-you-looking-for-a-horse-shoe-no-i-was-expecting-the-horse/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [But it is the mark of all movements, however well-intentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/but-it-is-the-mark-of-all-movements-however-well-intentioned-that/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [One must not only die daily, but every day we must be born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/one-must-not-only-die-daily-but-every-day-we-must-be-born-again/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“By teaching them all to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/by-teaching-them-all-to-read-we-have-left-them-at-the-mercy-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [... at no point have I yet found artistic truth and theological truth at variance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/at-no-point-have-i-yet-found-artistic-truth-and-theological-truth-at/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I have never yet heard any middle-aged man or woman who worked with his or her brains express any regret for the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-have-never-yet-heard-any-middle-aged-man-or-woman-who-worked-with/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“That was the second time within five minutes that he had warned her off his private ground. His mood had changed since the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/that-was-the-second-time-within-five-minutes-that-he-had-warned-her/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“To obey orders in this family has been my privilege for the last twenty years--a privilege which has been an unqualified pleasure, except perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/to-obey-orders-in-this-family-has-been-my-privilege-for-the-last/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Those who make some other person their job... are dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/those-who-make-some-other-person-their-job-are-dangerous/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Yes, and look at the corpses. Place always reminds me of that old thing in Punch, you know—‘Waiter, take away Lord Whatsisname, he’s been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/yes-and-look-at-the-corpses-place-always-reminds-me-of-that-old-thing/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) [Explore all 386 Dorothy L. Sayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## More Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [“As long as you keep searching,the answers will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/as-long-as-you-keep-searching-the-answers-will-come/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) Browse all 7,843 Answers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What we ask is to be human individuals, however peculiar and unexpected. 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