---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that’s what Toni Morrison and…"
description: "\"I think that’s what Toni Morrison and Alice Walker understand, the secret language of women. That it’s not a secret at all; men just don’t know how to ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/marlon-james-10052_language_i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-al_1236875.jpg"
---

#  I think that’s what Toni Morrison and Alice Walker…

![“I think that’s what Toni Morrison and Alice Walker understand, the secret language of women. That it’s not a secret at all; men just don’t know how to listen.” quote by Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/marlon-james-10052_language_i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-al_1236875.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/marlon-james-10052_language_i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-al_1236875.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/marlon-james-10052_language_i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-al_1236875.jpg)

> “I think that’s what Toni Morrison and Alice Walker understand, the secret language of women. That it’s not a secret at all; men just don’t know how to listen.”

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

## About This Quote

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

Women communicate in ways often overlooked by men, who may not listen or understand.

**In simple terms:** Women speak, men often don’t listen.

Key Takeaway

Listen more to women’s perspectives.

Themes

gender communication understanding

Mood

reflective critical

Type

observational analytical

When to use this quote

- relationships
- workplace
- family discussions
- media analysis

Key Concepts

social dynamics gender relations

Questions to Reflect On

- How can men become better listeners?
- What barriers prevent understanding?

A Different Perspective

Men may claim ignorance but often ignore effort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/)

## Related quotes

> [When women are secret they are secret indeed; and more often then not they only begin to be secret with the advent of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/when-women-are-secret-they-are-secret-indeed-and-more-often-then-not/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

> [I love women, I always liked women - no secret about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demis-roussos/i-love-women-i-always-liked-women-no-secret-about-that/)

[Demis Roussos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demis-roussos/)

> [If you understand something in only one way, then you don't really understand it at all. The secret of what anything means to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/if-you-understand-something-in-only-one-way-then-you-don-t-really/)

[Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/)

> [Whatever you want you can get, when you understand the secret of will. But wisdom is needed so that you do not use your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/whatever-you-want-you-can-get-when-you-understand-the-secret-of-will/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“In order to become great, one must understand the secret of time conversion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/in-order-to-become-great-one-must-understand-the-secret-of-time/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [Word by word, the language of women so often begins with a whisper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/word-by-word-the-language-of-women-so-often-begins-with-a-whisper/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Explore the idea of what the language that women speak would really be like if no one were there to correct them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/explore-the-idea-of-what-the-language-that-women-speak-would-really/)

[Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“The symbolic evidence of women’s invisibility in the human race is most clear perhaps in her suppression, her camouflage, her negation even in language.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/the-symbolic-evidence-of-women-s-invisibility-in-the-human-race-is/)

[Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/)

> [We've got to change the language of how women speak to women and how men speak to women and how we shame them for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-brown/we-ve-got-to-change-the-language-of-how-women-speak-to-women-and-how/)

[Hannah Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-brown/)

> [The great arbiters of language are the women who speak it in the presence of children... What the women pass on to the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/the-great-arbiters-of-language-are-the-women-who-speak-it-in-the/)

[Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/)

> [We must learn to speak the language women speak when there is no one there to correct us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/we-must-learn-to-speak-the-language-women-speak-when-there-is-no-one/)

[Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [So women are at the beginning of building a language, and not all women are conscious of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-chicago/so-women-are-at-the-beginning-of-building-a-language-and-not-all/)

[Judy Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-chicago/)

> [The language of women should be luminous, but not voluminous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/the-language-of-women-should-be-luminous-but-not-voluminous/)

[Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/)

> [“To the bachelor, the language of women is mystery. In those matters, a married man is already a scholar”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/to-the-bachelor-the-language-of-women-is-mystery-in-those-matters-a/)

[Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/)

> [“WORD SMUGGLERS Yang Huanyi, whose feet were crippled in infancy, stumbled through life until the autumn of the year 2004, when she died just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/word-smugglers-yang-huanyi-whose-feet-were-crippled-in-infancy/)

[Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/)

## More by Marlon James

> [“Nobody falls that way without being pushed. I know. And I know how it feels and looks, a body that falls fighting air all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/nobody-falls-that-way-without-being-pushed-i-know-and-i-know-how-it/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“People think blood red, but blood don't got no colour. Not when blood wash the floor she lying on as she scream for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/people-think-blood-red-but-blood-don-t-got-no-colour-not-when-blood/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [The fiction writer in me likes gaps in stories because I can jump into that gap and try to suggest something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/the-fiction-writer-in-me-likes-gaps-in-stories-because-i-can-jump/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [In 1976, Rastafarians were one of the most violated, persecuted groups in Jamaica. They could be beaten within an inch of their lives, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/in-1976-rastafarians-were-one-of-the-most-violated-persecuted-groups/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“I miss you, sister," he say. "I miss me too," she say. Always too clever but not clever enough to know when to blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/i-miss-you-sister-he-say-i-miss-me-too-she-say-always-too-clever-but/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“Devil has his part to play.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/devil-has-his-part-to-play/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [What I find, particularly with young writers and readers, is that they don't want complicated feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/what-i-find-particularly-with-young-writers-and-readers-is-that-they/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [At 28 years old, seven years out of college, I was so convinced that my voice outed me as a fag that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/at-28-years-old-seven-years-out-of-college-i-was-so-convinced-that-my/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“The white man say we’re fighting for freedom from totalitarianism, terrorism and tyranny, but nobody know what he mean. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/the-white-man-say-we-re-fighting-for-freedom-from-totalitarianism/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“Nineteen seventy-six come and bring an election with it. The man who bring guns to the ghetto made it clear, that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/nineteen-seventy-six-come-and-bring-an-election-with-it-the-man-who/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“She not black, she mulatto. Mulatto, mulatto, mulatto. Maybe she be family to both and to hurt white man just as bad as hurting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/she-not-black-she-mulatto-mulatto-mulatto-mulatto-maybe-she-be-family/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“Shiny like new zinc holding up a roof or a fence right beside old zinc, the material itself a living history of when last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/shiny-like-new-zinc-holding-up-a-roof-or-a-fence-right-beside-old/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [I'm really interested in how non-American countries process race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/i-m-really-interested-in-how-non-american-countries-process-race/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“People think it way past the time when anybody can remember who start things first, but don’t get the history of the ghetto twist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/people-think-it-way-past-the-time-when-anybody-can-remember-who-start/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

> [“We don't own truth. Truth is truth and nothing you can do about it even if you hide it, or kill it, or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/we-don-t-own-truth-truth-is-truth-and-nothing-you-can-do-about-it/)

[Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

[Explore all 67 Marlon James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/)

## More Feminism quotes

> [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/)

[Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/)

> [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/)

[Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/)

> [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/)

Joseph Joffre

> [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/)

[Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/)

> [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/)

[Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/)

> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/)

[Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/)

> [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/)

[Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/)

> [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

[Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think that’s what Toni Morrison and Alice Walker understand, the secret language of women. That it’s not a secret at all; men just don’t know how to listen.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marlon James"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-alice-walker-understand-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Feminism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-alice-walker-understand-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/marlon-james-10052_language_i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-al_1236875.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/marlon-james-10052_language_i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-al_1236875.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d2/marlon-james-10052_language_i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-al_1236875.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think that’s what Toni Morrison and Alice Walker understand, the secret language of women. That it’s not a…” — Marlon James",
                "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": "Marlon James",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think that’s what Toni Morrison...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-alice-walker-understand-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/i-think-that-s-what-toni-morrison-and-alice-walker-understand-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
