--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They're all qualities wrongly called…" description: "\"They're all qualities wrongly called feminine: attention to detail, patience, empathy. I don't have children, but I was raised as a female to have thos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/gloria-steinem-277_attention_they-re-all-qualities-wrongly-called-fem_1153852.jpg" --- # They're all qualities wrongly called feminine: attention… ![“They're all qualities wrongly called feminine: attention to detail, patience, empathy. I don't have children, but I was raised as a female to have those qualities because they're perceived as feminine. Until men are raised with those qualities, too, they won't have the full circle of human…” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/gloria-steinem-277_attention_they-re-all-qualities-wrongly-called-fem_1153852.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/gloria-steinem-277_attention_they-re-all-qualities-wrongly-called-fem_1153852.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/gloria-steinem-277_attention_they-re-all-qualities-wrongly-called-fem_1153852.jpg) > “They're all qualities wrongly called feminine: attention to detail, patience, empathy. I don't have children, but I was raised as a female to have those qualities because they're perceived as feminine. Until men are raised with those qualities, too, they won't have the full circle of human qualities.” [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. Qualities labeled “feminine” are human; gendered expectations limit full human development. **In simple terms:** Traits like empathy are human, not just feminine. Key Takeaway Encourage all genders to develop these traits. Themes gender equality human development empathy Mood empathetic hopeful Type social educational When to use this quote - education curricula - parenting approaches - workplace training - community programs Key Concepts social constructs psychology gender studies Questions to Reflect On - How can we teach empathy to all children? - What barriers exist in redefining gendered traits? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated cultural norms is slow and resistant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention to detail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-to-detail/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Female Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-qualities-473036/) [Feminine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminine/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Full circle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full-circle/) [Human qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-qualities/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Perceived Feminine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceived-feminine-3274109/) [Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities/) [Qualities Wrongly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities-wrongly-1558797/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Raised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raised/) ## Related quotes > [One of the main problems of our time is that men are deprived of their human qualities that are wrongly called feminine, and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/one-of-the-main-problems-of-our-time-is-that-men-are-deprived-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you consider that the gender roles are just political, then what you come to see is that the full circle of human qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-consider-that-the-gender-roles-are-just-political-then-what/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Men tend to gain wholeness by acquiring the qualities that are wrongly called feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/men-tend-to-gain-wholeness-by-acquiring-the-qualities-that-are/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women, we tend to become whole people by venturing outside of the home, learning to aspire, to achieve, to deal with conflict - all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-we-tend-to-become-whole-people-by-venturing-outside-of-the-home/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [One of the things I'm interested in is not just women but the female qualities that are present in everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/one-of-the-things-i-m-interested-in-is-not-just-women-but-the-female/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Wiles and deceit are female qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/wiles-and-deceit-are-female-qualities/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Volumptuous women look good. Ignorant messages from mass media tell women what size to be, but female qualities-a softness, a soothing capacity that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/volumptuous-women-look-good-ignorant-messages-from-mass-media-tell/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [“This needs a woman’s touch’, was her common refrain. Her view in essence was that so many issues and problems in a male-dominated world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-morton/this-needs-a-woman-s-touch-was-her-common-refrain-her-view-in-essence/) [Andrew Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-morton/) > [The man and the woman are not really two separate entities, but the personality of the man needs the supporting qualities of the woman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-man-and-the-woman-are-not-really-two-separate-entities-but-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Burnout is a way of telling you that your form of activism was perhaps not very full circle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/burnout-is-a-way-of-telling-you-that-your-form-of-activism-was/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [To me, the model of success is not linear. Success is completing the full circle of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/to-me-the-model-of-success-is-not-linear-success-is-completing-the/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [One of the most interesting things for me in playing another species is that you want to make them different enough to be alien…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-murray/one-of-the-most-interesting-things-for-me-in-playing-another-species/) [Jaime Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-murray/) > [My approach to politics is very serious. It must be handled by great people with extraordinary skills and human qualities. I feel I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balachandra-menon/my-approach-to-politics-is-very-serious-it-must-be-handled-by-great/) [Balachandra Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balachandra-menon/) > [“So let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/so-let-us-reflect-on-what-is-truly-of-value-in-life-what-gives/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## 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 Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They're all qualities wrongly called feminine: attention to detail, patience, empathy. 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