--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Power can be taken, but not given. The…" description: "\"Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.\" — Gloria Steinem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/gloria-steinem-277_empowerment_power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-pro_1581588.jpg" --- # Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the… ![“Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/gloria-steinem-277_empowerment_power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-pro_1581588.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/gloria-steinem-277_empowerment_power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-pro_1581588.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/gloria-steinem-277_empowerment_power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-pro_1581588.jpg) > “Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.” [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. Power is seized through action, not bestowed; the act of taking power itself empowers the taker. **In simple terms:** Power comes from taking, not receiving. Key Takeaway Actively claim authority to empower yourself. Themes empowerment agency politics leadership Mood assertive inspirational motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - career advancement - community organizing Key Concepts activism self-determination social change Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to claim power? - How does taking power change your self‑view? A Different Perspective Power taken without consent can create conflict and resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empowerment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowerment/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [Leadership is not taken, it is given. People give leadership to those that they trust. They allow people that they trust to have influence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/leadership-is-not-taken-it-is-given-people-give-leadership-to-those/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [We have evolved to understand that language of power that's taken too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dar-williams/we-have-evolved-to-understand-that-language-of-power-that-s-taken-too/) [Dar Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dar-williams/) > [Fashion can be a really powerful tool, but it's also a place where you can be totally humiliated and have your power taken from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/fashion-can-be-a-really-powerful-tool-but-it-s-also-a-place-where-you/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [“Power can be hoarded by the mighty or stolen from the innocent.Power provides the ability to choose. But has a proclivity for corruption. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/power-can-be-hoarded-by-the-mighty-or-stolen-from-the-innocent-power/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [God and the people are the source of all power. I have twice been given the power. I have taken it, and damn it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-duvalier/god-and-the-people-are-the-source-of-all-power-i-have-twice-been/) [Francois Duvalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-duvalier/) > [Power is not a material possession that can be given, it is the ability to act. Power must be taken, it is never given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/power-is-not-a-material-possession-that-can-be-given-it-is-the/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [Power, such a destructive force. While it's easy to gain, it's not easy to contain the constant temptation that comes with it. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cole/power-such-a-destructive-force-while-it-s-easy-to-gain-it-s-not-easy/) [Alex Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cole/) > [Once the new power has taken over they have to establish a new status quo just to keep the factories and trains running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/once-the-new-power-has-taken-over-they-have-to-establish-a-new-status/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [“It wasn’t simple friendship, love, lust or any kind of relatable human emotion. To part from them would hollow out my person: I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-washington/it-wasn-t-simple-friendship-love-lust-or-any-kind-of-relatable-human/) [Jane Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-washington/) > [“No one loses their innocence. It is either taken...or given away freely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-madison/no-one-loses-their-innocence-it-is-either-taken-or-given-away-freely/) [Tiffany Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-madison/) > [“If he wasn't already holding my heart in the palm of his hand, I would have taken it out and given it to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myra-mcentire/if-he-wasn-t-already-holding-my-heart-in-the-palm-of-his-hand-i-would/) [Myra McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myra-mcentire/) > [Remember, freedom is always taken, never given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/remember-freedom-is-always-taken-never-given/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Basketball's taken everything out of me and everything given me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-havlicek/basketball-s-taken-everything-out-of-me-and-everything-given-me/) [John Havlicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-havlicek/) > [“To be taken, or to be given, neither feels just.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-tingle/to-be-taken-or-to-be-given-neither-feels-just/) Rebecca Tingle > [“No one loses their innocence. It is either taken or given away willingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-madison/no-one-loses-their-innocence-it-is-either-taken-or-given-away/) [Tiffany Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-madison/) ## 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 Empowerment quotes > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Fear has the role we give it. We are able to empower or poison ourselves to whatever degree we want. This is the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/fear-has-the-role-we-give-it-we-are-able-to-empower-or-poison/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“Recognize that your attention is the most valuable thing you can ever own, and you alone have the ultimate power to choose where to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/recognize-that-your-attention-is-the-most-valuable-thing-you-can-ever/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Manipulating or controlling others through the use of one's illness or suffering,for example,was-and remains-extremely effective for people who find they cannot be direct in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/manipulating-or-controlling-others-through-the-use-of-one-s-illness/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Empowerment of individuals is a key part of what makes open source work, since in the end, innovations tend to come from small groups,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/empowerment-of-individuals-is-a-key-part-of-what-makes-open-source/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [“How would your life be different if...You could control the outcome of your day, your week, your year? Let today be the day...You embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/how-would-your-life-be-different-if-you-could-control-the-outcome-of/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [We seem to have lost contact with the earlier, more profound functions of art, which have always had to do with personal and collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-london/we-seem-to-have-lost-contact-with-the-earlier-more-profound-functions/) [Peter London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-london/) > [There's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/there-s-a-lot-of-activism-that-doesn-t-deal-with-empowerment-and-you/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [“Wallowing in self-pity hurts no one except you. Boss up and find a way to get going again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/wallowing-in-self-pity-hurts-no-one-except-you-boss-up-and-find-a-way/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [Self motivation is inner power which empowers you to strengthen your confidence, mental toughness, achieve greater height in life, best performance through positive attitude,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/self-motivation-is-inner-power-which-empowers-you-to-strengthen-your/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [Want to talk third wave feminism, you could cite Ariel Levy and the idea that women have internalized male oppression. Going to spring break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/want-to-talk-third-wave-feminism-you-could-cite-ariel-levy-and-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [What we are saying is that we need to consolidate the capacity to lend support. Because, one of the problems that's mentioned with regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/what-we-are-saying-is-that-we-need-to-consolidate-the-capacity-to/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“A spiritual reinterpretation of events gives us miraculous authority to command the winds, to part the waters, and to break all chains that bind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/a-spiritual-reinterpretation-of-events-gives-us-miraculous-authority/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 1,314 Empowerment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowerment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-process-of-the-taking-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Empowerment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-process-of-the-taking-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/gloria-steinem-277_empowerment_power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-pro_1581588.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/gloria-steinem-277_empowerment_power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-pro_1581588.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/gloria-steinem-277_empowerment_power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-pro_1581588.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.” — 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": "Power can be taken, but not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-process-of-the-taking-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/power-can-be-taken-but-not-given-the-process-of-the-taking-is/#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 } } ] } ```