--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live with a distinct double standard…" description: "\"We live with a distinct double standard about male and female aggression. Women's aggression isn't considered real. It isn't dangerous; it's only cute...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/katherine-dunn-2693_aggression_we-live-with-a-distinct-double-standard_3207573.png" --- # We live with a distinct double standard about male and… ![“We live with a distinct double standard about male and female aggression. Women's aggression isn't considered real. It isn't dangerous; it's only cute. Or it's always self-defense or otherwise inspired by a man. In the rare case where a woman is seen as genuinely responsible, she is branded a…” quote by Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/katherine-dunn-2693_aggression_we-live-with-a-distinct-double-standard_3207573.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/katherine-dunn-2693_aggression_we-live-with-a-distinct-double-standard_3207573.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32c/katherine-dunn-2693_aggression_we-live-with-a-distinct-double-standard_3207573.png) > “We live with a distinct double standard about male and female aggression. Women's aggression isn't considered real. It isn't dangerous; it's only cute. Or it's always self-defense or otherwise inspired by a man. In the rare case where a woman is seen as genuinely responsible, she is branded a monster - an 'unnatural' woman.” [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society undervalues women’s aggression, labeling it as harmless or defensive, while men’s aggression is normalized. **In simple terms:** Female aggression is dismissed or stereotyped. Key Takeaway Challenge gendered double standards. Themes gender bias aggression stereotypes social norms Mood critical analytical Type academic activist When to use this quote - workplace dynamics - media analysis - education curricula - policy advocacy Key Concepts feminist theory psychology media representation Questions to Reflect On - How can we recognize legitimate female aggression? - What steps can reduce gender bias? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated cultural narratives is difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) [Aggression Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression-isn-669566/) [Aggression Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression-women-1705489/) [Cute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cute/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Double standard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/double-standard/) [Female Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-aggression-1365779/) [Rare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Women Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-aggression-5980906/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of the times, what girls go through when they're growing up gets minimized. 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It's the outcome of a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/it-s-important-to-note-that-aggression-isn-t-the-problem-it-s-the/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [Aggressive female icons have been chronically demeaned... It's fine for male artists to be angry - they're encouraged to outwardly express their aggression -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/aggressive-female-icons-have-been-chronically-demeaned-it-s-fine-for/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [“I am often asked whether physical aggression by women toward men, such as a slap in the face, is abuse. (..) Men typically experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/i-am-often-asked-whether-physical-aggression-by-women-toward-men-such-2/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [While men represent powerful activity as assertion and aggression, women in contrast portray acts of nurturance as acts of strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-gilligan/while-men-represent-powerful-activity-as-assertion-and-aggression/) [Carol Gilligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-gilligan/) > [“I am often asked whether physical aggression by women toward men, such as a slap in the face, is abuse. The answer is: “It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/i-am-often-asked-whether-physical-aggression-by-women-toward-men-such/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [Indeed, girls can be so in need of social approval that they confuse harassment for acceptance--thinking that any attention is better than none. 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We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [“It was astonishing that the pseudo wreckers, who knew perfectly well that they weren't wreckers, believed that military men and priests were being shaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-astonishing-that-the-pseudo-wreckers-who-knew-perfectly-well/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [I'm shocked at the sexism and double standard coming out of the far right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mikulski/i-m-shocked-at-the-sexism-and-double-standard-coming-out-of-the-far/) [Barbara Mikulski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mikulski/) > [I want someone that'll love me unconditionally through the good and bad. No double standard. I want something real, just once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-someone-that-ll-love-me-unconditionally-through-the-good-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think people are more likely to comment on a thin person's weight then the weight of an over weight person. Double standard?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-people-are-more-likely-to-comment-on-a-thin-person-s-weight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Katherine Dunn > [Though 'Fat City' was written long before cellphones or the Internet, its human apparatus is state of the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/though-fat-city-was-written-long-before-cellphones-or-the-internet/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [A true freak cannot be made. A true freak must be born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/a-true-freak-cannot-be-made-a-true-freak-must-be-born/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I think genetic research is a fascinating and fertile area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/i-think-genetic-research-is-a-fascinating-and-fertile-area/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [A boxing gym is a place where men are allowed to be kind to one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/a-boxing-gym-is-a-place-where-men-are-allowed-to-be-kind-to-one/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [My own theory about the phlegmatic qualities and properties of the English is the mountain of pure white sugar hydrocarbons they consume every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/my-own-theory-about-the-phlegmatic-qualities-and-properties-of-the/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [Sometimes we followed the crops, doing migrant labor. 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They affect flamboyant behavior and claim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/there-are-those-whose-own-vulgar-normality-is-so-apparent-and/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [Only a lunatic would want to be president. These lunatics are created deliberately by those who wish to be presided over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/only-a-lunatic-would-want-to-be-president-these-lunatics-are-created/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [In a really good, closely matched situation, the style of the boxer is every bit as explicit and specific to him as a painter's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/in-a-really-good-closely-matched-situation-the-style-of-the-boxer-is/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [But the animation has become very good, and I think that a movie is not a book, and a book is not a movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/but-the-animation-has-become-very-good-and-i-think-that-a-movie-is/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I'd always been fascinated by boxing and became very engaged with it through my husband, actually. 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You will be able to find the mystery of life only if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/that-which-is-of-great-value-cannot-be-attained-through-aggression/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [I can remember watching MTV Cribs - these amazing houses - and looking around my house where there was no carpet on the floors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugzy-malone/i-can-remember-watching-mtv-cribs-these-amazing-houses-and-looking/) [Bugzy Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bugzy-malone/) > [Nationalism, on my opinion, is nothing more than an idealistic rationalization for militarism and aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nationalism-on-my-opinion-is-nothing-more-than-an-idealistic/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I really like battle ropes. They're so versatile; you can get a terrific workout doing a ton of different exercises with them. 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