--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because we are communal creatures, if…" description: "\"Because we are communal creatures, if you're with people who think you're smart, you're smart, and if they think you're dumb, you're dumb.\" — Gloria St..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/gloria-steinem-277_because_because-we-are-communal-creatures-if-you_848692.jpg" --- # Because we are communal creatures, if you're with people… ![“Because we are communal creatures, if you're with people who think you're smart, you're smart, and if they think you're dumb, you're dumb.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/gloria-steinem-277_because_because-we-are-communal-creatures-if-you_848692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/gloria-steinem-277_because_because-we-are-communal-creatures-if-you_848692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/gloria-steinem-277_because_because-we-are-communal-creatures-if-you_848692.jpg) > “Because we are communal creatures, if you're with people who think you're smart, you're smart, and if they think you're dumb, you're dumb.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our self-perception is shaped by the intelligence attributed to us by those around us. **In simple terms:** People's views influence our self‑image. Key Takeaway Surround yourself with supportive, confident peers. Themes psychology social influence identity Mood empowering thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - team building - mentorship - social media Key Concepts self‑esteem group dynamics confidence Questions to Reflect On - How do you cultivate inner confidence? - Can you thrive despite negative judgments? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook internal self‑belief independent of others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) ## Related quotes > [“If you think you're smart, think twice to be smarter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/if-you-think-you-re-smart-think-twice-to-be-smarter/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [It's hard work that makes the difference. I don't care how smart you are or how smart you think you are. Smart simply means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/it-s-hard-work-that-makes-the-difference-i-don-t-care-how-smart-you/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [I hate when people lie to me. But what pisses me off the most is when people think I'm dumb enough to believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-people-lie-to-me-but-what-pisses-me-off-the-most-is-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People around the NBA really think that I'm dumb or stupid. But people that know me know that I'm actually very intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javale-mcgee/people-around-the-nba-really-think-that-i-m-dumb-or-stupid-but-people/) [JaVale McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javale-mcgee/) > [Let them think you are dumb, instead of speaking and confirming their doubts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-them-think-you-are-dumb-instead-of-speaking-and-confirming-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I think I'm dumb or maybe just happy think I'm just happy...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/i-think-i-m-dumb-or-maybe-just-happy-think-i-m-just-happy/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [I'm an idiot, basically. I don't think that I'm a dumb guy, but I also realise that I have access to about 0.1 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-m-an-idiot-basically-i-don-t-think-that-i-m-a-dumb-guy-but-i-also/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [You have to get the audience invested even if you're doing something that they think is dumb, it's kind of what these movies are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halle-berry/you-have-to-get-the-audience-invested-even-if-you-re-doing-something/) [Halle Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halle-berry/) > [“They think that they’re smart and that the rest of us are dumb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/they-think-that-they-re-smart-and-that-the-rest-of-us-are-dumb/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [We're communal animals. If we're by ourselves, we can feel wrong and crazy and out of step with society. We really need those talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-re-communal-animals-if-we-re-by-ourselves-we-can-feel-wrong-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I'm not as smart as I think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-blumenthal/i-m-not-as-smart-as-i-think-i-am/) [Neil Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-blumenthal/) > [I know that I'm not as smart as I think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-know-that-i-m-not-as-smart-as-i-think-i-am/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [Let's face it, most of us are not half as smart as we may sometimes think we are-- and for intellectuals, not one-tenth as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/let-s-face-it-most-of-us-are-not-half-as-smart-as-we-may-sometimes/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“No matter how smart we may think we are, no matter how committed we are to our truth, we can lose our way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/no-matter-how-smart-we-may-think-we-are-no-matter-how-committed-we/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [People who observe no limits in attempting to get work done aren't nearly as smart as they think. Hard work can be done by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-j-zelinski/people-who-observe-no-limits-in-attempting-to-get-work-done-aren-t/) [Ernie J Zelinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-j-zelinski/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. 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I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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