--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Properly speaking, altruism is an…" description: "\"“Properly speaking, altruism is an absurdity. Women are self-sacrificing in direct proportion to their incapacity to offer anything but this sacrifice...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/germaine-greer-1521_altruism_properly-speaking-altruism-is-an-absurdi_2960748.png" --- # Properly speaking, altruism is an absurdity. Women are… ![“Properly speaking, altruism is an absurdity. Women are self-sacrificing in direct proportion to their incapacity to offer anything but this sacrifice. They sacrifice what they never had: a self. The cry of the deserted woman, 'What have I done to deserve this?' reveals at once the false emotional…” quote by Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/germaine-greer-1521_altruism_properly-speaking-altruism-is-an-absurdi_2960748.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/germaine-greer-1521_altruism_properly-speaking-altruism-is-an-absurdi_2960748.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/germaine-greer-1521_altruism_properly-speaking-altruism-is-an-absurdi_2960748.png) > ““Properly speaking, altruism is an absurdity. Women are self-sacrificing in direct proportion to their incapacity to offer anything but this sacrifice. They sacrifice what they never had: a self. The cry of the deserted woman, 'What have I done to deserve this?' reveals at once the false emotional economy that she has been following.”” [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Altruism is portrayed as a socially imposed expectation that limits women's self‑identity and agency. **In simple terms:** Women are pressured to sacrifice themselves, losing personal autonomy. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge imposed self‑sacrifice. Themes gender roles self‑sacrifice identity social expectations feminism Mood critical reflective empowering Type analysis philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - workplace - family dynamics - activism - personal relationships Key Concepts self‑realization power dynamics emotional labor Questions to Reflect On - What expectations limit your self‑expression? - How can you balance care for others with self‑care? A Different Perspective Self‑sacrifice can reinforce oppressive structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altruism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) [Altruism Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism-absurdity-4507589/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Sacrifice Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice-self-278037/) [Self Sacrificing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-sacrificing-247533/) [Speaking Altruism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking-altruism-4507590/) ## Related quotes > [“I think most historians would agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of history was small; first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/i-think-most-historians-would-agree-that-the-part-played-by-impulses/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [... the school should be an appendage of the family state, and modeled on its primary principle, which is, to train the ignorant and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-beecher/the-school-should-be-an-appendage-of-the-family-state-and-modeled-on/) [Catharine Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-beecher/) > [He was self-sacrificing in many different ways, and my father was a man of paradoxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carter-cash/he-was-self-sacrificing-in-many-different-ways-and-my-father-was-a/) [John Carter Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carter-cash/) > [Our culture has created two almost irreconcilable descriptions of a 'good woman.' The first is the individual achiever; the second, the self-sacrificing domestic goddess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/our-culture-has-created-two-almost-irreconcilable-descriptions-of-a/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [I doubt if we nuns are really as self-sacrificing as we must seem to be to you who live in the world. We don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/i-doubt-if-we-nuns-are-really-as-self-sacrificing-as-we-must-seem-to/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [“It's our responsibility to sift the beliefs we've been given through the lens of self-sacrificing love- because it's not love if it only serves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-oestreich/it-s-our-responsibility-to-sift-the-beliefs-we-ve-been-given-through/) [Diana Oestreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-oestreich/) > [Being a mother has been my greatest teacher and also the most self-sacrificing thing I've ever done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katey-sagal/being-a-mother-has-been-my-greatest-teacher-and-also-the-most-self/) [Katey Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katey-sagal/) > [Sometimes we esteem others more important than ourselves. We always become the martyr. It is wonderful to be self-sacrificing, but watch out for self-disdain!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-we-esteem-others-more-important-than-ourselves-we-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your love should be so far reaching, earnest, biblical, Christ-centered, pure, and self-sacrificing that the world may hate you for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/your-love-should-be-so-far-reaching-earnest-biblical-christ-centered/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [Excesses are essentially gestures. It is easy to be extremely cruel, magnanimous, humble or self-sacrificing when we see ourselves as actors in a performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/excesses-are-essentially-gestures-it-is-easy-to-be-extremely-cruel/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm proud, I've been working with this kind of self-sacrificing people like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/islom-karimov/i-m-proud-i-ve-been-working-with-this-kind-of-self-sacrificing-people/) [Islom Karimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/islom-karimov/) > [All artists are self-sacrificing human beings, and to become an artist is nothing but to devote oneself to the subterranean gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/all-artists-are-self-sacrificing-human-beings-and-to-become-an-artist/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [“I find something repulsive about the idea of vicarious redemption. I would not throw my numberless sins onto a scapegoat and expect them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-find-something-repulsive-about-the-idea-of-vicarious-redemption-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-world-is-perishing-from-an-orgy-of-self-sacrificing/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The self-sacrificing, servant aspect of the Christian life has many parallels to parenthood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/the-self-sacrificing-servant-aspect-of-the-christian-life-has-many/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) ## More by Germaine Greer > [You're only young once, but you can be immature forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/you-re-only-young-once-but-you-can-be-immature-forever/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Is it too much to ask that women be spared the daily struggle for superhuman beauty in order to offer it to the caresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/is-it-too-much-to-ask-that-women-be-spared-the-daily-struggle-for/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Female castration results in concentration of her feelings upon her male companion, and her impotence in confrontations with her own kind. 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She is self-deprecating; he is ludicrously vainglorious. She is a mistress of understatement; he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/gillard-is-as-likeable-as-rudd-is-charmless-she-is-self-deprecating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Liberty is terrifying but it is also exhilarating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/liberty-is-terrifying-but-it-is-also-exhilarating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [It is often falsely assumed, even by feminists, that sexuality is the enemy of the female who really wants to develop these aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/it-is-often-falsely-assumed-even-by-feminists-that-sexuality-is-the/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Women who were housewives, who were pretty miserable ... felt inspired by her book and their life changed. They didn't become megastars, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-who-were-housewives-who-were-pretty-miserable-felt-inspired-by/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [It is in our interests to let the police and their employers go on believing that the Underground is a conspiracy, because it increases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/it-is-in-our-interests-to-let-the-police-and-their-employers-go-on/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Rescuing women from their burden of unwarranted guilt is going to require 'educational practices and socializing agents' even more effective than the ones that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/rescuing-women-from-their-burden-of-unwarranted-guilt-is-going-to/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Men have still not realized that letting women do so much of the work for so little reward makes a man in the house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/men-have-still-not-realized-that-letting-women-do-so-much-of-the-work/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) [Explore all 232 Germaine Greer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) ## More Altruism quotes > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“...True classical dropouts in society are those who avoid difficult challenges and cling to the first opportunity that comes their way. They never test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/true-classical-dropouts-in-society-are-those-who-avoid-difficult/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Take a stand that reflects the widest horizons of your soul if you don’t want to be a slave to external powers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/take-a-stand-that-reflects-the-widest-horizons-of-your-soul-if-you/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [One of the great issues in biology is the origin of altruism - of why you would do something for someone else that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/one-of-the-great-issues-in-biology-is-the-origin-of-altruism-of-why/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/how-selfish-soever-man-may-be-supposed-there-are-evidently-some/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Restoration ecology is experimental science, a science of love and altruism. In its attempts to reverse the processes of ecosystem degradation it runs exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/restoration-ecology-is-experimental-science-a-science-of-love-and/) [Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/) > [“...of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. People do what they want to do, every time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/of-all-the-nonsense-that-twists-the-world-the-concept-of-altruism-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Only a fool would find happiness from an achievement that is detrimental to those he loves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/only-a-fool-would-find-happiness-from-an-achievement-that-is/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordell-hull/never-insult-an-alligator-until-after-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Cordell Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordell-hull/) > [“…the purpose of life is to nurture joy, which involves those aspects of humanity that enrich the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-nurture-joy-which-involves-those-aspects-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Whatever they say about it, but being altruistic is not so simple for everyone. 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Their gratitude stems not only from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/most-of-the-truly-kind-people-of-this-world-show-some-measure-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) [Browse all 419 Altruism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Properly speaking, altruism is an absurdity. Women are self-sacrificing in direct proportion to their incapacity to offer anything but this sacrifice. They sacrifice what they never had: a self. 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