--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never felt oppressed by women or…" description: "\"I have never felt oppressed by women or that feminism is a problem. I do think boys find it hard to like things seen as feminine. I want my son not to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/matt-haig-1036_ballet_i-have-never-felt-oppressed-by-women-or_2362087.jpg" --- # I have never felt oppressed by women or that feminism is a… ![“I have never felt oppressed by women or that feminism is a problem. I do think boys find it hard to like things seen as feminine. I want my son not to feel self-conscious he likes ballet and my daughter to carry on playing Han Solo; that's all.” quote by Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/matt-haig-1036_ballet_i-have-never-felt-oppressed-by-women-or_2362087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/matt-haig-1036_ballet_i-have-never-felt-oppressed-by-women-or_2362087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/matt-haig-1036_ballet_i-have-never-felt-oppressed-by-women-or_2362087.jpg) > “I have never felt oppressed by women or that feminism is a problem. I do think boys find it hard to like things seen as feminine. I want my son not to feel self-conscious he likes ballet and my daughter to carry on playing Han Solo; that's all.” [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker rejects oppression narratives, advocates for allowing children freedom beyond gender stereotypes. **In simple terms:** Kids should pursue interests without gender pressure. Key Takeaway Encourage gender‑free expression for children. Themes gender equality parenting stereotypes Mood supportive optimistic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - allowing boys to enjoy ballet - supporting girls in traditionally male roles - challenging societal expectations Key Concepts social conditioning identity formation freedom of choice Questions to Reflect On - How can parents model gender‑neutral support? - What barriers exist for children defying stereotypes? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑rooted cultural norms can be slow and meet resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Feminine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminine/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [If you propose there is a feminism problem in Korea, somebody would point out that you are bringing up antiquated issues. No one acknowledges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyesoon/if-you-propose-there-is-a-feminism-problem-in-korea-somebody-would/) [Kim Hyesoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyesoon/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. 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Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-williams/) > [A Smith & Wesson does more for empowering women than Feminism ever could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/a-smith-wesson-does-more-for-empowering-women-than-feminism-ever-could/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Men need to understand, and women too, what feminism is really about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/men-need-to-understand-and-women-too-what-feminism-is-really-about/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [People sometimes say that we will know feminism has done its job when half the CEOs are women. That’s not feminism; to quote Catharine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/people-sometimes-say-that-we-will-know-feminism-has-done-its-job-when/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“I cannot honestly say I was depressed. Maybe I felt more oppressed or suppressed. Label”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-b-bourke/i-cannot-honestly-say-i-was-depressed-maybe-i-felt-more-oppressed-or/) Maria B. Bourke > [I would suggest that a feminism which does not also seek to alter the exploitation of poorer women is not feminism at all, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-d-forbes/i-would-suggest-that-a-feminism-which-does-not-also-seek-to-alter-the-2/) [Jack D. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-d-forbes/) > [I would suggest that a feminism which does not also seek to alter the exploitation of poorer women is not feminism at all, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-d-forbes/i-would-suggest-that-a-feminism-which-does-not-also-seek-to-alter-the/) [Jack D. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-d-forbes/) > [And he felt himself oppressed by this creation of factitious purity, so cunningly manufactured by a conspiracy of mothers and aunts and grandmothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/and-he-felt-himself-oppressed-by-this-creation-of-factitious-purity/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The rise of women and feminism is well documented. What is equally fascinating - and less talked about - is the impact this has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-dunn/the-rise-of-women-and-feminism-is-well-documented-what-is-equally/) [Andy Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-dunn/) > [I never felt oppressed because of my gender. When I'm writing a poem or drawing, I'm not a female; I'm an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-never-felt-oppressed-because-of-my-gender-when-i-m-writing-a-poem/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## More by Matt Haig > [“Maybe that is what growing up was all about. It was about changing your mind. Opening it right up. Admitting to yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-that-is-what-growing-up-was-all-about-it-was-about-changing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It felt civilised and modern. It felt refined and tantalising, all at once, like a polite collective pre-orgasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-felt-civilised-and-modern-it-felt-refined-and-tantalising-all-at/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [If you can't give children optimism, then what are you doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-can-t-give-children-optimism-then-what-are-you-doing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“He just wanted to live inside a moment of that life with her forever, to pluck it like a flower and press it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/he-just-wanted-to-live-inside-a-moment-of-that-life-with-her-forever/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“That is one of the patterns: when nothing is happening, nothing continues to happen, but after a while the lull becomes too much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-is-one-of-the-patterns-when-nothing-is-happening-nothing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [The single biggest act of bravery or madness anyone can do is the act of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/the-single-biggest-act-of-bravery-or-madness-anyone-can-do-is-the-act/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. I think, 'If you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-me-as-a-writer-i-desperately-want-to-be-read-i-m-very-conscious/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It’s not you. It’s them. (No, really. It is.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-s-not-you-it-s-them-no-really-it-is/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“We are all so weird that, really, none of us are. 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I like to run, but only short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-the-connection-between-the-body-and-the-mind/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Look at the sky; remind yourself of the cosmos. Seek vastness at every opportunity in order to see the smallness of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/look-at-the-sky-remind-yourself-of-the-cosmos-seek-vastness-at-every/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [A book is a map. There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) [Explore all 294 Matt Haig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## More Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. 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There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never felt oppressed by women or that feminism is a problem. I do think boys find it hard to like things seen as feminine. 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