---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Intercourse is an assertion of mastery…"
description: "\"Intercourse is an assertion of mastery, one that announces his own higher caste and proves it upon a victim who is expected to surrender, serve, and be..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/kate-millett-7301_assertion_intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-o_702467.jpg"
---

#  Intercourse is an assertion of mastery, one that announces…

![“Intercourse is an assertion of mastery, one that announces his own higher caste and proves it upon a victim who is expected to surrender, serve, and be satisfied.” quote by Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/kate-millett-7301_assertion_intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-o_702467.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/kate-millett-7301_assertion_intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-o_702467.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/kate-millett-7301_assertion_intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-o_702467.jpg)

> “Intercourse is an assertion of mastery, one that announces his own higher caste and proves it upon a victim who is expected to surrender, serve, and be satisfied.”

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote critiques how sexual dominance is used to assert superiority and control over those expected to submit.

**In simple terms:** Sexual dominance asserts power over submissive partners.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and challenge power imbalances.

Themes

gender power sexuality hierarchy control

Mood

critical defiant

Type

analytical political

When to use this quote

- relationships
- workplace
- media representation
- legal systems

Key Concepts

patriarchy dominance social conditioning

Questions to Reflect On

- How does society normalize dominance in intimacy?
- What steps can individuals take to resist such hierarchies?

A Different Perspective

Power dynamics can be subtle and internalized, making resistance difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Assertion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertion/) [Caste Proves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-proves-5559082/) [Castes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castes/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Intercourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intercourse/) [Intercourse Assertion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intercourse-assertion-5559080/) [Mastery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mastery/) [Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove/) [Prove it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove-it/) [Proves Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proves-victim-5559081/) [Satisfied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfied/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/)

## Related quotes

> [Call a truce, then, to our labors - let us feast with friends and neighbors, and be merry as the custom of our caste;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/call-a-truce-then-to-our-labors-let-us-feast-with-friends-and/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

> [As a feminist, I consider the female pronoun to be an honorific, a term that conveys respect. Respect is due to women as members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/as-a-feminist-i-consider-the-female-pronoun-to-be-an-honorific-a-term/)

[Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/)

> [If we claim heritage in Bacon, Shakespeare and Milton, we also acknowledge that it was for liberties guaranteed Englishmen by sacred charters our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/if-we-claim-heritage-in-bacon-shakespeare-and-milton-we-also/)

[Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/)

> [“Even when her rights are recognized abstractly, long-standing habit keeps them from being concretely manifested in customs. Economically, men and women almost form two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/even-when-her-rights-are-recognized-abstractly-long-standing-habit/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Not in vain has Lincoln lived, for he has helped to make this republic an example of justice, with no caste but the caste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bancroft/not-in-vain-has-lincoln-lived-for-he-has-helped-to-make-this-republic/)

[George Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bancroft/)

> ["Learn good knowledge with all devotion from the lowest caste. Learn the way to freedom, even if it comes from a Pariah, by serving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/learn-good-knowledge-with-all-devotion-from-the-lowest-caste-learn/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [Now that practical skills have developed enough to provide adequately for material needs, one of these sciences which are not devoted to utilitarian ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/now-that-practical-skills-have-developed-enough-to-provide-adequately/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/)

[Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/)

> [I want the Brahmins to realize that the Dravidian people today are very much hating those who cunningly cheated them with absurdities. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/i-want-the-brahmins-to-realize-that-the-dravidian-people-today-are/)

[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/)

> [Political and social justice requires, not the disintegration of a country and destruction or humiliation of a class which shows initiative, intelligence and drive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syama-prasad-mukherjee/political-and-social-justice-requires-not-the-disintegration-of-a/)

[Syama Prasad Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syama-prasad-mukherjee/)

> [New Orleans invented the brown paper bag party - usually at a gathering in a home - where anyone darker than the bag attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/new-orleans-invented-the-brown-paper-bag-party-usually-at-a-gathering/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

> [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

> [One thing that was very clear to me is that the young people in a place like Annawadi aren't tripping on caste the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/one-thing-that-was-very-clear-to-me-is-that-the-young-people-in-a/)

[Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/)

> [The soul has neither sex, nor caste nor imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-soul-has-neither-sex-nor-caste-nor-imperfection/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [For African American children, in particular, the odds are extremely high that they will have a parent or loved one, a relative, who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/for-african-american-children-in-particular-the-odds-are-extremely/)

[Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/)

## More by Kate Millett

> [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [No one should be adored, it's fundamentally immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/no-one-should-be-adored-it-s-fundamentally-immoral/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [What is the future of the woman's movement How in the hell do I know I don't run it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/what-is-the-future-of-the-woman-s-movement-how-in-the-hell-do-i-know/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Coitus can scarcely be said to take place in a vacuum; although of itself it appears a biological and physical activity, it is set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/coitus-can-scarcely-be-said-to-take-place-in-a-vacuum-although-of/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [The concept of romantic love affords a means of emotional manipulation which the male is free to exploit, since love is the only circumstance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-concept-of-romantic-love-affords-a-means-of-emotional/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [They weren't crazy. They were tired of being locked up. Even I could see that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/they-weren-t-crazy-they-were-tired-of-being-locked-up-even-i-could/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [It may be that a second wave of the sexual revolution might at last accomplish its aim of freeing half the race from its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/it-may-be-that-a-second-wave-of-the-sexual-revolution-might-at-last/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [My sister said, You're making it hard for all us housewives in Nebraska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/my-sister-said-you-re-making-it-hard-for-all-us-housewives-in-nebraska/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [I saw hell. The hospital had divided and conquered pretty successfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/i-saw-hell-the-hospital-had-divided-and-conquered-pretty-successfully/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [I believe there's a killer in all of us. I know there's one inside me. When you know the killer in you and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/i-believe-there-s-a-killer-in-all-of-us-i-know-there-s-one-inside-me/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Because of our social circumstances, male and female are really two cultures and their life experiences are utterly different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/because-of-our-social-circumstances-male-and-female-are-really-two/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [For it is precisely because certain groups have no representation in a number of recognized political structures that their position tends to be so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/for-it-is-precisely-because-certain-groups-have-no-representation-in/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [The image of the woman as we know it is an image created by men and fashioned to suit their needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-image-of-the-woman-as-we-know-it-is-an-image-created-by-men-and/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Men and women were declared equal one morning and everybody could divorce each other by postcard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/men-and-women-were-declared-equal-one-morning-and-everybody-could/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Monogamy and prostitution go together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/monogamy-and-prostitution-go-together/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

[Explore all 88 Kate Millett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

## More Assertion quotes

> [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

> [Metaphysical assertions, however, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psychological. Whenever the Westerner hears the word “psychological,” it always sounds to him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/metaphysical-assertions-however-are-statements-of-the-psyche-and-are/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [When on a Sunday morning we hear the old bells ring out, we ask ourselves, "Is it possible! This is done on account of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-on-a-sunday-morning-we-hear-the-old-bells-ring-out-we-ask/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/)

[R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/)

> [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/)

[Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/)

> [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/)

[Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/)

> [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

> [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/)

[Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/)

> [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/)

[Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/)

> [The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/the-japanese-see-self-assertion-as-immoral-and-self-sacrifice-as-the/)

[Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/)

> [But innovation is more than a new method. It is a new view of the universe, as one of risk rather than of chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/but-innovation-is-more-than-a-new-method-it-is-a-new-view-of-the/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [What I need to write is a complicated equation. Maybe if I knew I'd be one of those writers, one of the steady ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/what-i-need-to-write-is-a-complicated-equation-maybe-if-i-knew-i-d-be/)

[Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/)

> [There needs to be a public dawning - and it is beginning to dawn on some members of the public - that how science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-d-holt-jr/there-needs-to-be-a-public-dawning-and-it-is-beginning-to-dawn-on/)

[Rush D. Holt, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-d-holt-jr/)

> [So long as Muslims continue looking towards Western civilization as the only force that could regenerate their own stagnant society, they destroy their self-confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/so-long-as-muslims-continue-looking-towards-western-civilization-as/)

[Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/)

[Browse all 279 Assertion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertion/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Intercourse is an assertion of mastery, one that announces his own higher caste and proves it upon a victim who is expected to surrender, serve, and be satisfied.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kate Millett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-one-that-announces-his-own/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Assertion"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-one-that-announces-his-own/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/kate-millett-7301_assertion_intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-o_702467.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/kate-millett-7301_assertion_intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-o_702467.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/kate-millett-7301_assertion_intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-o_702467.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Intercourse is an assertion of mastery, one that announces his own higher caste and proves it upon a victim…” — Kate Millett",
                "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": "Kate Millett",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Intercourse is an assertion of mastery,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-one-that-announces-his-own/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/intercourse-is-an-assertion-of-mastery-one-that-announces-his-own/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
