--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For whatever reason, some sorts of…" description: "\"For whatever reason, some sorts of women's silence were broken by MeToo. This is the optimistic bit. And that will lead to a much more careful attentio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mary-beard-3016_attention_for-whatever-reason-some-sorts-of-women_3125820.jpg" --- # For whatever reason, some sorts of women's silence were… ![“For whatever reason, some sorts of women's silence were broken by MeToo. This is the optimistic bit. And that will lead to a much more careful attention to women's voices.” quote by Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mary-beard-3016_attention_for-whatever-reason-some-sorts-of-women_3125820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mary-beard-3016_attention_for-whatever-reason-some-sorts-of-women_3125820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mary-beard-3016_attention_for-whatever-reason-some-sorts-of-women_3125820.jpg) > “For whatever reason, some sorts of women's silence were broken by MeToo. This is the optimistic bit. And that will lead to a much more careful attention to women's voices.” [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. MeToo has begun to break women's silence, creating optimism for greater attention to their voices. **In simple terms:** MeToo is amplifying women's voices. Key Takeaway Support and listen to women's perspectives. Themes gender equality activism voice optimism Mood hopeful determined Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - media analysis - policy making - education - activism - public discourse Key Concepts social change media influence Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure sustained attention to women's voices? - What barriers remain for women's expression? A Different Perspective Silence can persist despite movements; progress may be uneven. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [We have never escaped a certain male cultural desire for women's silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-never-escaped-a-certain-male-cultural-desire-for-women-s/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/comrades-there-is-no-true-social-revolution-without-the-liberation-of/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [“Here was a people. A family. A faith. Her people. Her family. Her faith. Here was a silence broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-graudin/here-was-a-people-a-family-a-faith-her-people-her-family-her-faith/) [Ryan Graudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-graudin/) > [I don't think that we are completely dominated by what we have inherited from the past, but it is the case that as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-don-t-think-that-we-are-completely-dominated-by-what-we-have/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“Don't fear His silence. Use it to examine your heart and motives. Listen expectantly for the silence to be broken by the glory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall-2/don-t-fear-his-silence-use-it-to-examine-your-heart-and-motives/) [R.T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall-2/) > [“Again there was silence. It was broken by the high trill of the telephone-bell. "There is one of our bacilli squeaking for help," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/again-there-was-silence-it-was-broken-by-the-high-trill-of-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [People knew about Babi Yar before Yevtushenko's poem, but they were silent. And when they read the poem, the silence was broken. Art destroys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/people-knew-about-babi-yar-before-yevtushenko-s-poem-but-they-were/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [I can hear the roar of women's silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/i-can-hear-the-roar-of-women-s-silence/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [“My silence knot is tied up in my hair; as if to keep my love out of my eyes. I cannot speak to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/my-silence-knot-is-tied-up-in-my-hair-as-if-to-keep-my-love-out-of-my/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [Woman, to women silence is the best ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/woman-to-women-silence-is-the-best-ornament/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“She hesitated, wiping her hands off on her apron. “I’m not sure if I’ll be here when you get back. This place is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/she-hesitated-wiping-her-hands-off-on-her-apron-i-m-not-sure-if-i-ll/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“Every woman knows what I’m talking about. It’s the presumption that makes it hard, at times, for any woman in any field; that keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/every-woman-knows-what-i-m-talking-about-it-s-the-presumption-that/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The impulse to create begins - often terribly and fearfully - in a tunnel of silence. Every real poem is the breaking of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-impulse-to-create-begins-often-terribly-and-fearfully-in-a-tunnel/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [To women silence gives their proper grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/to-women-silence-gives-their-proper-grace/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Every woman knows what I'm talking about. It’s the presumption that makes it hard, at times, for any woman in any field; that keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/every-woman-knows-what-i-m-talking-about-it-s-the-presumption-that-2/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More by Mary Beard > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [We have never escaped a certain male cultural desire for women's silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-never-escaped-a-certain-male-cultural-desire-for-women-s/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“defend women’s right to be wrong, at least occasionally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/defend-women-s-right-to-be-wrong-at-least-occasionally/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [You don't overturn x-thousand years of patriarchy in a generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/you-don-t-overturn-x-thousand-years-of-patriarchy-in-a-generation/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“we have no template for what a powerful woman looks like, except that she looks rather like a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-no-template-for-what-a-powerful-woman-looks-like-except-that/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“(In the Afghan parliament, apparently, they disconnect the mics when they don’t want to hear the women speak).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/in-the-afghan-parliament-apparently-they-disconnect-the-mics-when/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I've chosen to be this way because that's how I feel comfortable with myself. That's how I am. It's about joining up the dots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-ve-chosen-to-be-this-way-because-that-s-how-i-feel-comfortable-with/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [People who exploit others come to spend an enormous amount of energy wondering about and justifying that exploitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/people-who-exploit-others-come-to-spend-an-enormous-amount-of-energy/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [Wherever possible, I try to see things from the other side of the dividing line and to read civilisation 'against the grain.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/wherever-possible-i-try-to-see-things-from-the-other-side-of-the/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I remember plastering the kitchen with Black Power pictures of Angela Davis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-remember-plastering-the-kitchen-with-black-power-pictures-of-angela/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“thinking about power as an attribute or even a verb (‘to power’), not as a possession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/thinking-about-power-as-an-attribute-or-even-a-verb-to-power-not-as-a/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [If women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/if-women-are-not-perceived-to-be-fully-within-the-structures-of-power/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [When it comes to silencing women, Western culture has had thousands of years of practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/when-it-comes-to-silencing-women-western-culture-has-had-thousands-of/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I think that what will help women get into positions of power - well, day nurseries, equal pay, family-friendly working hours. And I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-think-that-what-will-help-women-get-into-positions-of-power-well/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“One of its (civilisations) most powerful weapons has always been 'barbarity': 'we' know that 'we' are civilised by contrasting ourselves with those we deem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/one-of-its-civilisations-most-powerful-weapons-has-always-been/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) [Explore all 137 Mary Beard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For whatever reason, some sorts of women's silence were broken by MeToo. 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