---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't do husbands. I don't do children."
description: "\"I don't do husbands. I don't do children.\" — Marina Abramovic"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/marina-abramovic-1502_children_i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children_3165113.jpg"
---

#  I don't do husbands. I don't do children.

![“I don't do husbands. I don't do children.” quote by Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/marina-abramovic-1502_children_i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children_3165113.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/marina-abramovic-1502_children_i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children_3165113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/marina-abramovic-1502_children_i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children_3165113.jpg)

> “I don't do husbands. I don't do children.”

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker rejects conventional roles of spouse and parent, asserting personal autonomy.

**In simple terms:** Rejects traditional family roles for independence.

Key Takeaway

Define identity beyond societal expectations.

Themes

autonomy identity nonconformity

Mood

defiant thoughtful

Type

philosophical provocative

When to use this quote

- career choices
- artistic expression
- social activism

Key Concepts

existentialism gender roles self-determination

Questions to Reflect On

- What does independence mean to you?
- How do you balance personal freedom with community?

A Different Perspective

May overlook benefits of relational connections.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Husbands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husbands/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/)

## Related quotes

> [Sensitive husbands don't like second billing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-crawford/sensitive-husbands-don-t-like-second-billing/)

[Joan Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-crawford/)

> [We don't wife our husbands and we don't child our parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/we-don-t-wife-our-husbands-and-we-don-t-child-our-parents/)

[Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/)

> [I love animation, I really do, but I don't do it for the children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-love-animation-i-really-do-but-i-don-t-do-it-for-the-children/)

[Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/)

> [I don't see myself with or without children - whatever will be, will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/i-don-t-see-myself-with-or-without-children-whatever-will-be-will-be/)

[Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/)

> [“If we don't see to it that our children turn out better than we did, what will become of the world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-friesner/if-we-don-t-see-to-it-that-our-children-turn-out-better-than-we-did/)

Esther Friesner

> [The rich don't have children; they have heirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-charles-newman/the-rich-don-t-have-children-they-have-heirs/)

Peter Charles Newman

> [Many children's writers don't have children of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/many-children-s-writers-don-t-have-children-of-their-own/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“Daughter! Get you an honest Man for a Husband, and keep him honest. No matter whether he is rich, provided he be independent. Regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/daughter-get-you-an-honest-man-for-a-husband-and-keep-him-honest-no/)

[John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/)

> [There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run, by patience and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/there-are-few-husbands-whom-the-wife-cannot-win-in-the-long-run-by/)

[Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/)

> [A husband is what's left of the lover after the nerve has been extracted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/a-husband-is-what-s-left-of-the-lover-after-the-nerve-has-been/)

[Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/)

> [Some husbands regard it as their prerogative to compel their wives to fit their standards of what they think to be the ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/some-husbands-regard-it-as-their-prerogative-to-compel-their-wives-to/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [Some men are born husbands; they have a passion for domesticity, for a fireside, for a home. Yet, curiously, these men very rarely stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/some-men-are-born-husbands-they-have-a-passion-for-domesticity-for-a/)

[Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/)

> [There is so little difference between husbands you might as well keep the first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adela-rogers-st-johns/there-is-so-little-difference-between-husbands-you-might-as-well-keep/)

[Adela Rogers St. Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adela-rogers-st-johns/)

> [“Not satisfied with what he's got? Is that it? That's husbands all over. Ungrateful pigs. You do everything for them, you bring up their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/not-satisfied-with-what-he-s-got-is-that-it-that-s-husbands-all-over/)

[Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/)

> [Some women have the best husbands. Others make the best of the husbands they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/some-women-have-the-best-husbands-others-make-the-best-of-the/)

[Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/)

## More by Marina Abramovic

> [I really think there's no difference between an art piece made by a man and one made by a woman. Is it a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-really-think-there-s-no-difference-between-an-art-piece-made-by-a/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [I hate studios. A studio is a black hole. I never use a studio to work. It's very artificial to go to a studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-hate-studios-a-studio-is-a-black-hole-i-never-use-a-studio-to-work/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [In my work I have complete control, but about my life, I don't want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/in-my-work-i-have-complete-control-but-about-my-life-i-don-t-want-to/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [Performance is there, and if you are not there in that moment it happened, it just stays in the memory. It's so immaterial and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/performance-is-there-and-if-you-are-not-there-in-that-moment-it/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [I can explain my work to the cleaner or the president; it's all the same to me. I am very communist in this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-can-explain-my-work-to-the-cleaner-or-the-president-it-s-all-the/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [My memoirs are full of humor, I had to change jokes because it was a little too dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/my-memoirs-are-full-of-humor-i-had-to-change-jokes-because-it-was-a/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [To be in a magazine when you're 20 is okay, but when you do it when you're 65, it's much more fun!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/to-be-in-a-magazine-when-you-re-20-is-okay-but-when-you-do-it-when/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [Most of the time, the artists are not supposed to wear the fashion. It is always seen as a vanity. But I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/most-of-the-time-the-artists-are-not-supposed-to-wear-the-fashion-it/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [You know, art is very emotional business. But mostly it becomes not emotional, the fabric of commodity. It becomes business. It becomes so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/you-know-art-is-very-emotional-business-but-mostly-it-becomes-not/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [I didn't give any instruction to the video, because it was a new medium. I didn't know what to tell him; it was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-didn-t-give-any-instruction-to-the-video-because-it-was-a-new/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [If I'm not nervous, I'm nervous. You never know how people are going to receive the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/if-i-m-not-nervous-i-m-nervous-you-never-know-how-people-are-going-to/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [Today, our attention is less than the television advertisement. We're looking at six or seven problems constantly. We're living in the disturbed societies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/today-our-attention-is-less-than-the-television-advertisement-we-re/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [Art comes from life, not from the studio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/art-comes-from-life-not-from-the-studio/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [All the aggressive actions I do to myself I would never dream of doing in my own life - I am not this kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/all-the-aggressive-actions-i-do-to-myself-i-would-never-dream-of/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

> [It's so easy to do things you like. But then, the thing is, when you're afraid of something, face it; go for it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/it-s-so-easy-to-do-things-you-like-but-then-the-thing-is-when-you-re/)

[Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

[Explore all 234 Marina Abramovic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/)

## More Children quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/)

[Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/)

> [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/)

[Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/)

> [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/)

[Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/)

> [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/)

[Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/)

> [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/)

[Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/)

> [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/)

[Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/)

[Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/)

[Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

[Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I don't do husbands. I don't do children.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marina Abramovic"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Children"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/marina-abramovic-1502_children_i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children_3165113.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/marina-abramovic-1502_children_i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children_3165113.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/marina-abramovic-1502_children_i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children_3165113.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I don't do husbands. I don't do children.” — Marina Abramovic",
                "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": "Marina Abramovic",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I don't do husbands. I don't...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-don-t-do-husbands-i-don-t-do-children/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
