---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are expected, somehow, not to offend…"
description: "\"We are expected, somehow, not to offend anyone on our way to liberation. There's an absurd expectation that the women's movement must be the first revo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/mary-blakely-18888_absurd_we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-an_2513298.jpg"
---

#  We are expected, somehow, not to offend anyone on our way…

![“We are expected, somehow, not to offend anyone on our way to liberation. There's an absurd expectation that the women's movement must be the first revolution in history to accomplish its goals without hurting anyone's feelings.” quote by Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/mary-blakely-18888_absurd_we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-an_2513298.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/mary-blakely-18888_absurd_we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-an_2513298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/mary-blakely-18888_absurd_we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-an_2513298.jpg)

> “We are expected, somehow, not to offend anyone on our way to liberation. There's an absurd expectation that the women's movement must be the first revolution in history to accomplish its goals without hurting anyone's feelings.”

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

## About This Quote

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

Societal pressure often demands that activism avoid hurting feelings, creating unrealistic expectations for movements.

**In simple terms:** Activism is expected to be completely non‑offensive, which is unrealistic.

Key Takeaway

Balance advocacy with empathy.

Themes

activism feminism social expectations

Mood

determined reflective

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- protests
- online campaigns
- policy advocacy
- community organizing

Key Concepts

ethical compromise emotional labor intersectionality

Questions to Reflect On

- How can movements stay true to goals while respecting diverse feelings?
- When is it okay to challenge comfort zones?

A Different Perspective

Not all conflict can be avoided; sometimes discomfort signals needed change.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/)

## Related quotes

> [I think I've always felt that I want to do a very specific type of work and I've made informed decisions. You know, hopefully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zawe-ashton/i-think-i-ve-always-felt-that-i-want-to-do-a-very-specific-type-of/)

[Zawe Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zawe-ashton/)

> [Most young people are or will soon enough be workers. They can help to energize and radicalize the workers' movement. And what revolution has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/most-young-people-are-or-will-soon-enough-be-workers-they-can-help-to/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Culturally, there is often the expectation that women should be repelled by anything too ugly, too violent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/culturally-there-is-often-the-expectation-that-women-should-be/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [I think that the same kind of openness and fluidity and willingness to interrogate power that we, as feminists, expect from men in alliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/i-think-that-the-same-kind-of-openness-and-fluidity-and-willingness/)

[Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/)

> [This goes to show how much of an impact culture has. Even in countries where online access is readily available, there may not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-sweet/this-goes-to-show-how-much-of-an-impact-culture-has-even-in-countries/)

[Julie Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-sweet/)

> [There's this expectation that women are supposed to be hot, but never aware of it. So I try to be very purposeful and aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sennott/there-s-this-expectation-that-women-are-supposed-to-be-hot-but-never/)

[Rachel Sennott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sennott/)

> [The most unacknowledged spending expectation among women is the amount of time spent by single mothers caring for children, not only physically, but psychologically.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/the-most-unacknowledged-spending-expectation-among-women-is-the/)

[Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/)

> [People will say to me, ‘You’ve played so many strong women,’ and I’ll say, ‘Have you ever said to a man, “You’ve played so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/people-will-say-to-me-you-ve-played-so-many-strong-women-and-i-ll-say/)

[Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/)

> [What stunned me was the regular assertion that feminists were "anti-family." . . . It was motherhood that got me into the movementin the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/what-stunned-me-was-the-regular-assertion-that-feminists-were-anti/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [I think I would have died if there hadn't been the women's movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-think-i-would-have-died-if-there-hadn-t-been-the-women-s-movement-2/)

[Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/)

> [They sign a bunch of women, and they call it a movement. I don't like the way women in music have been identified as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-shocked/they-sign-a-bunch-of-women-and-they-call-it-a-movement-i-don-t-like/)

[Michelle Shocked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-shocked/)

> [I think I would have died if there hadn't been the women's movement. It gave me a vision that I could do something different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-think-i-would-have-died-if-there-hadn-t-been-the-women-s-movement/)

[Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/)

> [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/)

[Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/)

> [The women's movement appeared at a very crucial moment in my life. There was a whole political movement asking such questions and others I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-women-s-movement-appeared-at-a-very-crucial-moment-in-my-life/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

> [The movement across Canada to fight toxic chemicals is a women's movement. It's a concern about health; it's very intimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/the-movement-across-canada-to-fight-toxic-chemicals-is-a-women-s/)

[Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/)

## More by Mary Blakely

> [The truth invariably arrives several years after you need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/the-truth-invariably-arrives-several-years-after-you-need-it/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology,fate . . . until we can actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/however-diligent-she-may-be-however-dedicated-no-mother-can-escape/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [In motherhood, where seemingly opposite realities can be simultaneously true, the role of nurturer invariably conflicts with the role of socializer. When trouble came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-motherhood-where-seemingly-opposite-realities-can-be/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [Mothers are likely to have more bad days on the job than most other professionals, considering the hours: round-the-clock, seven days a week, fifty-two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/mothers-are-likely-to-have-more-bad-days-on-the-job-than-most-other/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [By now, legions of tireless essayists and op-ed columnists have dressed feminists down for making such a fuss about entering the professions and earning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/by-now-legions-of-tireless-essayists-and-op-ed-columnists-have/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [Families don't always realize that mother is exhausted, because mother is always exhausted. Exhausted is what looks normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/families-don-t-always-realize-that-mother-is-exhausted-because-mother/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [If my sons are to become the kind of men our daughters would be pleased to live among, attention to domestic details is critical.The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/if-my-sons-are-to-become-the-kind-of-men-our-daughters-would-be/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I'd read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/after-i-discovered-the-real-life-of-mothers-bore-little-resemblance/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [A "snapshot" feature in USA Today listed the five greatest concerns parents and teachers had about children in the '50s: talking out of turn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/a-snapshot-feature-in-usa-today-listed-the-five-greatest-concerns/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [Most literature on the culture of adolescence focuses on peer pressure as a negative force. Warnings about the "wrong crowd" read like tornado alerts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/most-literature-on-the-culture-of-adolescence-focuses-on-peer/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [However global I strove to become in my thinking over the past twenty years, my sons kept me rooted to an utterly pedestrian view,intimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/however-global-i-strove-to-become-in-my-thinking-over-the-past-twenty/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [In the range of things toddlers have to learn and endlessly review--why you can't put bottles with certain labels in your mouth, why you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-the-range-of-things-toddlers-have-to-learn-and-endlessly-review/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [When trouble comes no mother should have to plead guilty alone. The pediatricians, psychologists, therapists, goat herders, fathers, and peer groups should all be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/when-trouble-comes-no-mother-should-have-to-plead-guilty-alone-the/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been--and even then thereare surprises.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/it-takes-twenty-or-so-years-before-a-mother-can-know-with-any/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

> [One life stamps and influences another, which in turn stamps and influences another, on and on, until the soul of human experience breathes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/one-life-stamps-and-influences-another-which-in-turn-stamps-and/)

[Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

[Explore all 34 Mary Blakely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/)

## More Absurd quotes

> [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/)

[J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/)

[Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/)

> [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/)

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

> [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/)

[Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/)

> [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/)

[David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/)

> [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; &amp; the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/)

[Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/)

> [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/)

[Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/)

> [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

[Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We are expected, somehow, not to offend anyone on our way to liberation. There's an absurd expectation that the women's movement must be the first revolution in history to accomplish its goals without hurting anyone's feelings.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mary Blakely"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-anyone-on-our-way-to-liberation/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Absurd"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-anyone-on-our-way-to-liberation/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/mary-blakely-18888_absurd_we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-an_2513298.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/mary-blakely-18888_absurd_we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-an_2513298.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/mary-blakely-18888_absurd_we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-an_2513298.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We are expected, somehow, not to offend anyone on our way to liberation. There's an absurd expectation that…” — Mary Blakely",
                "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": "Mary Blakely",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We are expected, somehow, not to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-anyone-on-our-way-to-liberation/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/we-are-expected-somehow-not-to-offend-anyone-on-our-way-to-liberation/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
