--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost everything has been stolen from us…" description: "\"Almost everything has been stolen from us by the patriarchy. Our creativity has been stolen, our creative energies, our religion. I want it back.\" — Ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/mary-daly-12589_creativity_almost-everything-has-been-stolen-from-u_1714459.jpg" --- # Almost everything has been stolen from us by the… ![“Almost everything has been stolen from us by the patriarchy. Our creativity has been stolen, our creative energies, our religion. I want it back.” quote by Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/mary-daly-12589_creativity_almost-everything-has-been-stolen-from-u_1714459.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/mary-daly-12589_creativity_almost-everything-has-been-stolen-from-u_1714459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/mary-daly-12589_creativity_almost-everything-has-been-stolen-from-u_1714459.jpg) > “Almost everything has been stolen from us by the patriarchy. Our creativity has been stolen, our creative energies, our religion. I want it back.” [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patriarchal structures have appropriated women's creativity, religion, and energy; she demands reclamation. **In simple terms:** Patriarchy steals women's gifts. Key Takeaway Reclaim creative and spiritual autonomy. Themes feminism patriarchy creativity spirituality Mood defiant hopeful Type activist philosophical When to use this quote - activism - artistic expression - spiritual practice Key Concepts critical theory gender studies Questions to Reflect On - What personal creative aspects have you felt suppressed? - How can communities support each other's reclamation? A Different Perspective Reclaiming may face systemic resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Creativity Stolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity-stolen-1277277/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Patriarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriarchy/) [Patriarchy Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriarchy-creativity-1277278/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Stolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stolen/) [Stolen Patriarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stolen-patriarchy-1277276/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) ## Related quotes > [Patriarchy has stolen our cosmos and returned it in the form of 'Cosmopolitan' magazine and cosmetics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/patriarchy-has-stolen-our-cosmos-and-returned-it-in-the-form-of/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [I urge you to sin. But not against these itty-bitty religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism-or their secular derivatives, Marxism, Maoism, Freudianism and Jungianism-whic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/i-urge-you-to-sin-but-not-against-these-itty-bitty-religions/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Think of Virginia Woolf, 'A Room of One's Own' - that's what women have always needed under patriarchy and can't be creative without. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/think-of-virginia-woolf-a-room-of-one-s-own-that-s-what-women-have/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [I have a theory of living on the boundary: on the boundary of patriarchy and the boundary of different dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/i-have-a-theory-of-living-on-the-boundary-on-the-boundary-of/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Patriarchy appears to be everywhere. Even outer space and the future have been colonized. As a rule, even the more imaginative science-fiction writers (allegedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/patriarchy-appears-to-be-everywhere-even-outer-space-and-the-future/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [The word ‘sin’ is derived from the Indo-European root ‘es-,’ meaning ‘to be.’ When I discovered this etymology, I intuitively understood that for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/the-word-sin-is-derived-from-the-indo-european-root-es-meaning-to-be/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Women have had the power of naming stolen from us. We have not been free to use our own power to name ourselves, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/women-have-had-the-power-of-naming-stolen-from-us-we-have-not-been/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [“While we avoid taking credit for success, women leap at the opportunity to take responsibility for failure. Men tend to externalize the reasons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/while-we-avoid-taking-credit-for-success-women-leap-at-the/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [The woman who takes a woman lover lives dangerously in patriarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-clarke/the-woman-who-takes-a-woman-lover-lives-dangerously-in-patriarchy/) [Cheryl Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-clarke/) > [“Laudy laud! is my new phrase for the hero worship that butters the human bread.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-robinson/laudy-laud-is-my-new-phrase-for-the-hero-worship-that-butters-the/) [Linda Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-robinson/) > [“One way or another, we spend our whole lives being conditioned into accepting some line or order, some position of domination or subjection. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-james/one-way-or-another-we-spend-our-whole-lives-being-conditioned-into/) [Cliff James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-james/) > [The power of patriarchy has been to make maleness feared and to make men feel that it is better to be feared that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/the-power-of-patriarchy-has-been-to-make-maleness-feared-and-to-make/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“The representation of women in the society, especially through mass media has been the most delusional act ever done on the grounds of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-representation-of-women-in-the-society-especially-through-mass/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Women are rising. And I think that's all the violence and war - it could be the last gasp of the patriarchy, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/women-are-rising-and-i-think-that-s-all-the-violence-and-war-it-could/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [“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/) ## More by Mary Daly > [You become courageous by doing courageous acts...Courage is a habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/you-become-courageous-by-doing-courageous-acts-courage-is-a-habit/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [God's plan' is often a front for men's plans and a cover for inadequacy, ignorance, and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/god-s-plan-is-often-a-front-for-men-s-plans-and-a-cover-for/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [I don't want to be a fulfilled woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-fulfilled-woman/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [You guard against decay, in general, and stagnation, by moving, by continuing to move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/you-guard-against-decay-in-general-and-stagnation-by-moving-by/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Tokenism does not change stereotypes of social systems but works to preserve them, since it dulls the revolutionary impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/tokenism-does-not-change-stereotypes-of-social-systems-but-works-to/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [I'm a complete deviant. All creative work breaks new ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/i-m-a-complete-deviant-all-creative-work-breaks-new-ground/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [The word ‘sin’ is derived from the Indo-European root ‘es-,’ meaning ‘to be.’ When I discovered this etymology, I intuitively understood that for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/the-word-sin-is-derived-from-the-indo-european-root-es-meaning-to-be/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [The Adequate Protest demands far more than protests. It calls for Great and Daring Leaps of Integrity and Courage to See.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/the-adequate-protest-demands-far-more-than-protests-it-calls-for/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Why indeed must 'God' be a noun? Why not a verb - the most active and dynamic of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/why-indeed-must-god-be-a-noun-why-not-a-verb-the-most-active-and/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Within a culture possessed by the myth of feminine evil, the naming, describing, and theorizing about good and evil has constituted a maze/haze of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/within-a-culture-possessed-by-the-myth-of-feminine-evil-the-naming/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [I hate the Bible. I always did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/i-hate-the-bible-i-always-did/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [I hope that in its richness, as well as in its incompleteness, Gyn/Ecology will continue to be a Labrys enabling women to learn from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/i-hope-that-in-its-richness-as-well-as-in-its-incompleteness-gyn/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Women have had the power of naming stolen from us. We have not been free to use our own power to name ourselves, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/women-have-had-the-power-of-naming-stolen-from-us-we-have-not-been/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [There are and will be those who think I have gone overboard. Let them rest assured that this assessment is correct, probably beyond their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/there-are-and-will-be-those-who-think-i-have-gone-overboard-let-them/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [Male religion entombs women in sepulchres of silence in order to chant its own eternal and dreary dirge to a past that never was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/male-religion-entombs-women-in-sepulchres-of-silence-in-order-to/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) [Explore all 54 Mary Daly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [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/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost everything has been stolen from us by the patriarchy. Our creativity has been stolen, our creative energies, our religion. 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