--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gender is probably the most restricting…" description: "\"Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life.\" — Gloria Steinem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/gloria-steinem-277_american_gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting_1278484.jpg" --- # Gender is probably the most restricting force in American… ![“Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/gloria-steinem-277_american_gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting_1278484.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/gloria-steinem-277_american_gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting_1278484.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/gloria-steinem-277_american_gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting_1278484.jpg) > “Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life.” [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. Gender imposes limiting expectations that shape American society and individual lives. **In simple terms:** Gender restrictions dominate American life. Key Takeaway Challenge gender-based limitations. Themes gender social norms equality American culture Mood empowering hopeful Type activist feminist When to use this quote - family expectations - educational settings Key Concepts workplace bias media representation policy reform Questions to Reflect On - How have gender roles changed since the 1970s? - What actions can further reduce gender restrictions? A Different Perspective Gender constraints are evolving, not static. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-life/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Restricting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restricting/) ## Related quotes > [Bean-counting government bureaucrats are free to take race, ethnicity and gender into account when doling out public funds to non-white-male contractors. But God help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/bean-counting-government-bureaucrats-are-free-to-take-race-ethnicity/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [People are mobile. They move around, and anytime they want to communicate, if you tie them to the wall or the wires, you're restricting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cooper/people-are-mobile-they-move-around-and-anytime-they-want-to/) [Martin Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cooper/) > [When you're too concerned about branding, you're restricting yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelly-furtado/when-you-re-too-concerned-about-branding-you-re-restricting-yourself/) [Nelly Furtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelly-furtado/) > [I'm as against restricting access to drugs as I am to burning books. It offends me in the same way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-m-as-against-restricting-access-to-drugs-as-i-am-to-burning-books/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Then it was that were passed the laws restricting emancipation and prohibiting education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-charles-carey/then-it-was-that-were-passed-the-laws-restricting-emancipation-and/) [Henry Charles Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-charles-carey/) > [The way popular music is categorized and formatted cuts down on everyone's options. And although people don't talk about it, there are a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chapman/the-way-popular-music-is-categorized-and-formatted-cuts-down-on/) [Tracy Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chapman/) > [“The Lowood constraint still clings to you somewhat; controlling your features, muffling your voice, and restricting your limbs; and you fear in the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/the-lowood-constraint-still-clings-to-you-somewhat-controlling-your/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I'm against exclusion of any kind - whether that's restricting people from Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. or kicking merchants off our platform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-lutke/i-m-against-exclusion-of-any-kind-whether-that-s-restricting-people/) [Tobias Lutke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-lutke/) > [In absolute terms, we may have to look at restricting the number of flights people take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adair-turner-baron-turner-of-ecchinswell/in-absolute-terms-we-may-have-to-look-at-restricting-the-number-of/) [Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adair-turner-baron-turner-of-ecchinswell/) > [On a personal level, Freaking Out is a process whereby an individual casts off outmoded and restricting standards of thinking, dress, and social etiquette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/on-a-personal-level-freaking-out-is-a-process-whereby-an-individual/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [When I learned that flour pound for pound has as many calories as sugar, and that when eating pasta you're basically eating cake, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/when-i-learned-that-flour-pound-for-pound-has-as-many-calories-as/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [Horror and panic themselves are forms of violence, and diminishing them, restricting their dimensions, is itself a civilizing act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/horror-and-panic-themselves-are-forms-of-violence-and-diminishing/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [I don't want to blanket ban all scars and disfigurements in films because that's going to be a very boring creative landscape and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-pearson/i-don-t-want-to-blanket-ban-all-scars-and-disfigurements-in-films/) [Adam Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-pearson/) > [When regulations restricting competition are relaxed, nobody's market share is protected. If telephone companies can offer video programming, cable revenue will surely drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kapor/when-regulations-restricting-competition-are-relaxed-nobody-s-market/) [Mitch Kapor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kapor/) > [If you say "can't" you're restricting what you can do or ever will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-phelps/if-you-say-can-t-you-re-restricting-what-you-can-do-or-ever-will-do/) [Michael Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-phelps/) ## 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 American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. 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The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting-force-in-american-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting-force-in-american-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/gloria-steinem-277_american_gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting_1278484.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/gloria-steinem-277_american_gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting_1278484.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/gloria-steinem-277_american_gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting_1278484.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life.” — Gloria Steinem", "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": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gender is probably the most restricting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting-force-in-american-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/gender-is-probably-the-most-restricting-force-in-american-life/#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 } } ] } ```