--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Norman Mailer] is against masturbation…" description: "\"[Norman Mailer] is against masturbation, he's against homosexuality. He believes that murder is essentially sexual. I think he's rather an anthology of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/gore-vidal-466_anthology_norman-mailer-is-against-masturbation-he_2379198.jpg" --- # \[Norman Mailer\] is against masturbation, he's against… ![“[Norman Mailer] is against masturbation, he's against homosexuality. He believes that murder is essentially sexual. I think he's rather an anthology of all the darkest American traits.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/gore-vidal-466_anthology_norman-mailer-is-against-masturbation-he_2379198.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/gore-vidal-466_anthology_norman-mailer-is-against-masturbation-he_2379198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/260/gore-vidal-466_anthology_norman-mailer-is-against-masturbation-he_2379198.jpg) > “\[Norman Mailer\] is against masturbation, he's against homosexuality. He believes that murder is essentially sexual. I think he's rather an anthology of all the darkest American traits.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Vidal criticizes Mailer for linking sexual behavior with violence and moral decay, portraying him as embodying negative American traits. **In simple terms:** Vidal sees Mailer as a symbol of dark American values. Key Takeaway Recognize how moral judgments can be weaponized. Themes criticism morality American culture Mood critical analytical Type controversial political When to use this quote - literary analysis - cultural commentary - media criticism Key Concepts psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do personal biases shape our interpretation of public figures? - Can we separate an author's work from their personal views? A Different Perspective Vidal's view may oversimplify Mailer's complex ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Masturbation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masturbation/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It's absolutely philistine not to recognize what a great book 'An American Dream' is. Norman Mailer is his own worst enemy, and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/it-s-absolutely-philistine-not-to-recognize-what-a-great-book-an/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [How wonderful it was to sit on a set with Norman Mailer and get to know him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fisher/how-wonderful-it-was-to-sit-on-a-set-with-norman-mailer-and-get-to/) Frances Fisher > [Norman Mailer records in his recent essays and public appearances his perfecting of himself as a virile instrument of letters; he is perpetually in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/norman-mailer-records-in-his-recent-essays-and-public-appearances-his/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [If I'd found out that Norman Mailer liked me. I'd have killed myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/if-i-d-found-out-that-norman-mailer-liked-me-i-d-have-killed-myself/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [When he comes, he makes a noise deep in his throat that is so raw and animal and sexual that I think if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/when-he-comes-he-makes-a-noise-deep-in-his-throat-that-is-so-raw-and/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“In the South of Spain, one could look to vice as quickly as to virtue for a sense of tradition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/in-the-south-of-spain-one-could-look-to-vice-as-quickly-as-to-virtue/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Mailer's Law: A thing either gets better or it costs more to run it the way it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/mailer-s-law-a-thing-either-gets-better-or-it-costs-more-to-run-it/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Somebody like Mailer brings to that role everything that he stands for. The types of characters that I gravitate towards, the types of icons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-barney/somebody-like-mailer-brings-to-that-role-everything-that-he-stands/) [Matthew Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-barney/) > [“I heard from clear across the city, over the Hudson in the Jersey yards, one fierce whistle of a locomotive which took me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-heard-from-clear-across-the-city-over-the-hudson-in-the-jersey/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/what-had-brought-me-to-new-york-in-the-autumn-of-1972-was-a-letter-of/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [It was at a vividly bad time in Norman Mailer's life that I met him, and a sort of water-treading time in mine. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/it-was-at-a-vividly-bad-time-in-norman-mailer-s-life-that-i-met-him/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Norman Mailer described the desire to be cool as a "decision to encourage the psychopath in oneself, to explore that domain of experience where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/norman-mailer-described-the-desire-to-be-cool-as-a-decision-to/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [The whole book experience was a look into another world, the world of Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-kramer/the-whole-book-experience-was-a-look-into-another-world-the-world-of/) [Jerry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-kramer/) > [My father, Norman Mailer, expected a lot from us and he really pushed us and you know one of his favorite lines was, "If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buffalo-mailer/my-father-norman-mailer-expected-a-lot-from-us-and-he-really-pushed/) [John Buffalo Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buffalo-mailer/) > [I fell in love with Norman Mailer's 'Of a Fire on the Moon', a description of the 1969 moon landing and the society that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-fell-in-love-with-norman-mailer-s-of-a-fire-on-the-moon-a/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Anthology quotes > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [I had the idea to do an anthology about instrument-making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-toop/i-had-the-idea-to-do-an-anthology-about-instrument-making/) [David Toop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-toop/) > [I regret that there aren't more short stories in other magazines. But in a certain way, I think the disappearance of the short-story template…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-regret-that-there-aren-t-more-short-stories-in-other-magazines-but/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [Way back in 1989, I got lucky with my first published story when it was selected for the Journey Prize anthology. Then I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bergen/way-back-in-1989-i-got-lucky-with-my-first-published-story-when-it/) [David Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bergen/) > [I once was asked to contribute to a mushroom poem anthology. I didn't have anything, and so instead ended up writing the introduction. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-once-was-asked-to-contribute-to-a-mushroom-poem-anthology-i-didn-t/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I am also working on a couple of short stories for anthologies. This is new to me and Im enjoying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/i-am-also-working-on-a-couple-of-short-stories-for-anthologies-this/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [No matter what, I'm never going to get an anthology from an actual publisher, though I could always score another music anthology. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meltzer/no-matter-what-i-m-never-going-to-get-an-anthology-from-an-actual/) [Richard Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meltzer/) > [You apply the skills you use to produce your own book to make an anthology. Shaping. Rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-apply-the-skills-you-use-to-produce-your-own-book-to-make-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After my grandfather died I went down to the basement of my family house where my family kept books, anthologies and things and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/after-my-grandfather-died-i-went-down-to-the-basement-of-my-family/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Cross-pollination and "contamination" is really important to the health of fiction, and sometimes it's a literal conversation, too, in that writers who might never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/cross-pollination-and-contamination-is-really-important-to-the-health/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [When I stand in a library where is all the recorded wit of the world, but none of the recording, a mere accumulated, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-stand-in-a-library-where-is-all-the-recorded-wit-of-the-world/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think as long as the standard of quality, the story-telling, film-making, acting etc. etc. remains consistent, then you've got a good change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-marshall/i-think-as-long-as-the-standard-of-quality-the-story-telling-film/) [Neil Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-marshall/) > [ I've never heard of that anthology \[Vance Randolph, Pissing in the Snow\], but you can be sure I'll buy it now. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/i-ve-never-heard-of-that-anthology-vance-randolph-pissing-in-the-snow/) [Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/) > [The original Greek meaning of the word anthology is a collection or gathering of flowers in bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-garmey/the-original-greek-meaning-of-the-word-anthology-is-a-collection-or/) Jane Garmey > [The Psalms, the anthology of the hymns of Israel, are still used by Christians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/the-psalms-the-anthology-of-the-hymns-of-israel-are-still-used-by/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) Browse all 129 Anthology quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Norman Mailer] is against masturbation, he's against homosexuality. 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