--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As sexual power is learned by adolescent…" description: "\"“As sexual power is learned by adolescent boys through the social experience of their sex drive, so do girls learn that the locus of sexual power is ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/kathleen-l-barry-151478_adolescence_as-sexual-power-is-learned-by-adolescent_574980.jpg" --- # As sexual power is learned by adolescent boys through the… ![“As sexual power is learned by adolescent boys through the social experience of their sex drive, so do girls learn that the locus of sexual power is male. Given the importance placed on the male sex drive in the socialization of girls as well as boys, early adolescence is probably the first…” quote by Kathleen L. Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/kathleen-l-barry-151478_adolescence_as-sexual-power-is-learned-by-adolescent_574980.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/kathleen-l-barry-151478_adolescence_as-sexual-power-is-learned-by-adolescent_574980.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/kathleen-l-barry-151478_adolescence_as-sexual-power-is-learned-by-adolescent_574980.jpg) > ““As sexual power is learned by adolescent boys through the social experience of their sex drive, so do girls learn that the locus of sexual power is male. Given the importance placed on the male sex drive in the socialization of girls as well as boys, early adolescence is probably the first significant phase of male identification in a girl's life and development. ... As a young girl becomes aware of her own increasing sexual feelings ... she turns away from her heretofore primary relationships with girlfriends. As they become secondary to her, recede in importance in her life, her own identity also assumes a secondary role and she grows into male identification.”” Kathleen L. Barry ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Girls learn sexual power is male‑centered, shaping identity toward male identification during early adolescence. **In simple terms:** Girls see power as male, shaping identity. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge gendered power narratives. Themes gender identity sexuality adolescence socialization Mood reflective critical educational Type Adolescence:1 Motivation:0 Sex drive:0 Sexual-power:1 Youth:1 Early Adolescence:1 Sexual Power:0 Locus Sexual:0 Adolescence Probably:0 When to use this quote - school curricula - parental guidance - peer discussions Key Concepts power dynamics gender socialization identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How do early messages about gender affect later relationships? - What can schools do to balance power narratives? A Different Perspective Gendered power views can be internalized unknowingly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adolescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Sex drive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-drive/) [Sexual-power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-power/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“Until recently the locus of sexual fantasy was peopled with images actually glimpsed or were sensations actually felt, or private imaginings taken from suggestions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/until-recently-the-locus-of-sexual-fantasy-was-peopled-with-images/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [The source of sexual power is curiosity, passion. You are watching its little flame die of asphyxiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-source-of-sexual-power-is-curiosity-passion-you-are-watching-its/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The early adolescence years are crucial for a child's cognitive, emotional and social development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-mills/the-early-adolescence-years-are-crucial-for-a-child-s-cognitive/) [Patty Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-mills/) > [We women have gained so many more things, but we lost that kind of sexual power, the glamour power. We still love women who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-biller/we-women-have-gained-so-many-more-things-but-we-lost-that-kind-of/) [Anna Biller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-biller/) > [“when children reach early adolescence, what motivates them most effectively isn’t licking and grooming–style care but a very different kind of attention. Perhaps what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tough/when-children-reach-early-adolescence-what-motivates-them-most/) [Paul Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tough/) > [“We talk about the disappointments of early adolescence - the betrayals by friends, the discovery that one is not beautiful by cultural standards, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/we-talk-about-the-disappointments-of-early-adolescence-the-betrayals/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [“(Here and in the European tradition generally, the convention of not painting the hair on a woman's body helps towards the same end. Hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/here-and-in-the-european-tradition-generally-the-convention-of-not/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [The source of sexual power is curiosity, passion. You are watching its little flame die of asphyxiation. Sex does not thrive on monotony. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-source-of-sexual-power-is-curiosity-passion-you-are-watching-its-2/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [What they have done over the centuries is evolve the fine use of sexual power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/what-they-have-done-over-the-centuries-is-evolve-the-fine-use-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The signs that presage growth, so similar, it seems to me, to those in early adolescence: discontent, restlessness, doubt, despair, longing, are interpreted falsely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/the-signs-that-presage-growth-so-similar-it-seems-to-me-to-those-in/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [I started hustling in early adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-gibbs/i-started-hustling-in-early-adolescence/) [Freddie Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-gibbs/) > [“Women are these wonderful mysteries and they excite me on all kinds of levels. Their power over us is, I think, often a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/women-are-these-wonderful-mysteries-and-they-excite-me-on-all-kinds/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [My adolescence was quite miserable, when I look back on it, at least my early part of my adolescence. Because there was anti-Semitism in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/my-adolescence-was-quite-miserable-when-i-look-back-on-it-at-least-my/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [Old school feminism, coveting social power, is blind to woman's cosmic sexual power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/old-school-feminism-coveting-social-power-is-blind-to-woman-s-cosmic/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [The experience of being raped can lead to suicidal behavior as early as adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-experience-of-being-raped-can-lead-to-suicidal-behavior-as-early/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Adolescence quotes > [They must move from a psychological state of victimization to a psychological state of accepting responsibility. The Palestinians must leave behind their revolutionary adolescence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shavit/they-must-move-from-a-psychological-state-of-victimization-to-a/) [Ari Shavit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shavit/) > [Having children truly ends adolescence. We are all either parents or children: responsibility-takers or those who demand from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/having-children-truly-ends-adolescence-we-are-all-either-parents-or/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth living. School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/teenage-girls-are-extremists-who-see-the-world-in-black-and-white/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-phillips/teenagers-complain-there-s-nothing-to-do-then-stay-out-all-night/) [Bob Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-phillips/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [The donning of the ear buds marks the beginning of teen life, when children set off on their own for the passage through adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/the-donning-of-the-ear-buds-marks-the-beginning-of-teen-life-when/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Most adults would not dream of belittling, humiliating, or bullying (verbally or physically) another adult. But many of the same adults think nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/most-adults-would-not-dream-of-belittling-humiliating-or-bullying/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He'd possessed all the key elements of a school shooter: hormones, misery, ammunition. People wondered how something like Columbine could happen. Jude wondered why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-d-possessed-all-the-key-elements-of-a-school-shooter-hormones/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Adolescence is interesting. I mean, all of life is interesting and all of life is transitionary. But I think there is an exponential growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-henson/adolescence-is-interesting-i-mean-all-of-life-is-interesting-and-all/) [Bill Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-henson/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) [Browse all 787 Adolescence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As sexual power is learned by adolescent boys through the social experience of their sex drive, so do girls learn that the locus of sexual power is male. 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