--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People still think that a woman who…" description: "\"People still think that a woman who doesn't have children or doesn't want children is really lacking in something. I've seen this over and over again i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/mary-gaitskill-7551_children_people-still-think-that-a-woman-who-does_1327097.jpg" --- # People still think that a woman who doesn't have children… ![“People still think that a woman who doesn't have children or doesn't want children is really lacking in something. I've seen this over and over again in my life. I've had this thinking used against me repeatedly. I remember I had a therapist once, and I brought this up, and she said, "Well, I…” quote by Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/mary-gaitskill-7551_children_people-still-think-that-a-woman-who-does_1327097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/mary-gaitskill-7551_children_people-still-think-that-a-woman-who-does_1327097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/mary-gaitskill-7551_children_people-still-think-that-a-woman-who-does_1327097.jpg) > “People still think that a woman who doesn't have children or doesn't want children is really lacking in something. I've seen this over and over again in my life. I've had this thinking used against me repeatedly. I remember I had a therapist once, and I brought this up, and she said, "Well, I think women who don't have children feel very self-critical. They feel bad, so they think other people are critical in that way."” [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal expectations pressure women without children, labeling them as deficient, leading to self‑criticism and external judgments. **In simple terms:** Society often judges childfree women as lacking. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge harmful stereotypes about motherhood. Themes gender bias societal pressure identity Mood thoughtful serious Type social psychological When to use this quote - career - social interactions - therapy sessions - public discourse Key Concepts feminist critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does this bias affect your self‑image? - What support can challenge this narrative? A Different Perspective Not all cultures share this bias; personal choice varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-think/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Think People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-people/) [Think Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-woman/) [Think Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-women/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Want Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-children/) ## Related quotes > [I think women are afraid to say that they don't want children because they're going to get shunned. But I think that's changing too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/i-think-women-are-afraid-to-say-that-they-don-t-want-children-because/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-do-honestly-think-that-if-women-were-running-the-world-there-would/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [I think so many people give us ideas of what we are. 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And the people that think they know the most know the least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/nobody-knows-diddly-they-just-think-they-do-and-the-people-that-think/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [Do What Ever you want to never think what will people think about you :) its you who have to enjoy not the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karal/do-what-ever-you-want-to-never-think-what-will-people-think-about-you/) [Karal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karal/) > [“You should feel free to feel how you want and don't think of what people think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/you-should-feel-free-to-feel-how-you-want-and-don-t-think-of-what/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I don't think any woman in power really has a happy life unless she's got a large number of women friends ... because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-don-t-think-any-woman-in-power-really-has-a-happy-life-unless-she-s/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## More by Mary Gaitskill > [“I carry love wrapped in pain. That is my treasure and soon it will be yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-carry-love-wrapped-in-pain-that-is-my-treasure-and-soon-it-will-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“God famously doesn't afflict Job because of anything Job has done, but because he wants to prove a point to Satan. Twenty years later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/god-famously-doesn-t-afflict-job-because-of-anything-job-has-done-but/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When you're writing a story, you're creating something of an artificial ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-you-re-writing-a-story-you-re-creating-something-of-an/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Partly, I'm worried that no one is saying anything because they are afraid of being seen as politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/partly-i-m-worried-that-no-one-is-saying-anything-because-they-are/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “...loading your brain with subliminal messages… How loathsome to turn a sadistic murder into entertainment \[in the newspaper\] -- and yet how hard not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/loading-your-brain-with-subliminal-messages-how-loathsome-to-turn-a/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “The place Joanne is building inside \[herself\] has rooms for all of this. 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I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-my-first-book-came-out-it-was-very-disorienting-my-health-went/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When he held her that way, she felt so happy that it disturbed her. After he left, it would take her hours to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-he-held-her-that-way-she-felt-so-happy-that-it-disturbed-her/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“But life can give a lot. If you can’t see inside the heart no matter how you look, then why not look? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/but-life-can-give-a-lot-if-you-can-t-see-inside-the-heart-no-matter/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Sexuality is a place where people are very vulnerable and can be experiencing and embodying very raw forces that they don't really understand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/sexuality-is-a-place-where-people-are-very-vulnerable-and-can-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“When boys get angry with each other, they just fight it out and it's all over. But girls are dirty. They pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-boys-get-angry-with-each-other-they-just-fight-it-out-and-it-s/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I think, life is miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-life-is-miserable/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) [Explore all 87 Mary Gaitskill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## 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. 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