--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because society would rather we always…" description: "\"Because society would rather we always wore a pretty face, women have been trained to cut off anger.\" — Nancy Friday" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/656/nancy-friday-19442_anger_because-society-would-rather-we-always-w_231218.png" --- # Because society would rather we always wore a pretty face… ![“Because society would rather we always wore a pretty face, women have been trained to cut off anger.” quote by Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/656/nancy-friday-19442_anger_because-society-would-rather-we-always-w_231218.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/656/nancy-friday-19442_anger_because-society-would-rather-we-always-w_231218.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/656/nancy-friday-19442_anger_because-society-would-rather-we-always-w_231218.png) > “Because society would rather we always wore a pretty face, women have been trained to cut off anger.” [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society pressures women to hide anger, encouraging them to mask true feelings with a pleasant demeanor. **In simple terms:** Women are taught to hide anger behind a smile. Key Takeaway Recognize and express genuine emotions. Themes gender expectations emotional suppression social conformity Mood frustrated reflective Type critical observational When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace dynamics - mental health advocacy Key Concepts feminist critique psychology self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - How does masking anger affect your wellbeing? - What safe spaces allow authentic expression? A Different Perspective Hiding anger can lead to resentment and burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Cut Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cut-anger-2340257/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Face Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-women-1341717/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friday/) [Happy friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-friday/) [Pretty face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-face/) [Society Wore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-wore-2304789/) [Women Trained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-trained-2340258/) ## Related quotes > [“It was not always the case that a large minority comprising the weakest members of society wore special clothes, were freed from the routines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-not-always-the-case-that-a-large-minority-comprising-the/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [A woman, as much as a man, is responsible by the age of forty for the character of her face. But women, obeying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-woman-as-much-as-a-man-is-responsible-by-the-age-of-forty-for-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [I'd rather be a face for happiness and doing things that you have a passion for, rather than faking it and pretending like I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-delle-donne/i-d-rather-be-a-face-for-happiness-and-doing-things-that-you-have-a/) [Elena Delle Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-delle-donne/) > [We want to be the face of women's football, to encourage young girls to play. If I have to be recognised in the streets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-kirby/we-want-to-be-the-face-of-women-s-football-to-encourage-young-girls/) [Fran Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-kirby/) > [. . . black women . . . are trained from childhood to become workers, and expect to be financially self-supporting for most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-women-are-trained-from-childhood-to-become-workers-and-expect/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [I think, though, as African-American women, we are always trained to value our community even at the expense of ourselves, and so we attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hill/i-think-though-as-african-american-women-we-are-always-trained-to/) [Anita Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-hill/) > [“Women have been trained in our culture and society to ask for what we want instead of taking what we want. We've been really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/women-have-been-trained-in-our-culture-and-society-to-ask-for-what-we/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/women-have-been-trained-to-speak-softly-and-carry-a-lipstick-those/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Inside every adult male is a denied little boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/inside-every-adult-male-is-a-denied-little-boy/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [The debt of gratitude we owe our mother and father goes forward, not backward. What we owe our parents is the bill presented to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/the-debt-of-gratitude-we-owe-our-mother-and-father-goes-forward-not/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [Happy Friday. Send your students into the weekend inspired!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-friday-send-your-students-into-the-weekend-inspired/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is Monday that makes you feel Thank god its Friday. So every day has its importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srinivasa-reddy/it-is-monday-that-makes-you-feel-thank-god-its-friday-so-every-day/) [Srinivasa Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/srinivasa-reddy/) > [Have a Blessed Friday & a Victorious Weekend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/have-a-blessed-friday-a-victorious-weekend/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I did not know it then, but Frida had already become the most important fact in my life. And would continue to be, up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/i-did-not-know-it-then-but-frida-had-already-become-the-most/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [Wait for you!? No thanks, I'd rather wait for the weekend. That'll make sense even more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakii-retondo/wait-for-you-no-thanks-i-d-rather-wait-for-the-weekend-that-ll-make/) [Rakii Retondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakii-retondo/) ## More by Nancy Friday > [Blaming mother is just a negative way of clinging to her still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/blaming-mother-is-just-a-negative-way-of-clinging-to-her-still/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [I think biologically we are attracted to more than one person, but given society and our needs, monogamy works better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/i-think-biologically-we-are-attracted-to-more-than-one-person-but/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [“Nancy, you know I’m not really good at this mothering business,” she says. “You’re a lovely child, the fault is not with you. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/nancy-you-know-i-m-not-really-good-at-this-mothering-business-she/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [I like the company of men. I've never been welcome in those groups, but then I would no more go to a consciousness-raising group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/i-like-the-company-of-men-i-ve-never-been-welcome-in-those-groups-but/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [After sex, men fear too much intimacy; they want to separate again. Women want to talk, to continue the merging, melting fusion into one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/after-sex-men-fear-too-much-intimacy-they-want-to-separate-again/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [Fantasy isn't something you run out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/fantasy-isn-t-something-you-run-out-of/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [If you believe in the maternal instinct and fail at mother love, you fail as a woman. 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What we owe our parents is the bill presented to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/the-debt-of-gratitude-we-owe-our-mother-and-father-goes-forward-not/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [“The primary rule is always that a mother can’t go wrong, ever, by encouraging her child after age one and a half to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/the-primary-rule-is-always-that-a-mother-can-t-go-wrong-ever-by/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [Do women dress for men or women? I’ve always wondered why that eternally provocative question is put in terms of approval - as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/do-women-dress-for-men-or-women-i-ve-always-wondered-why-that/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [“Our feelings about menstruation are the image of what it is to be a woman in this culture. While menstruation and the fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/our-feelings-about-menstruation-are-the-image-of-what-it-is-to-be-a/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [To say something nice about themselves, this is the hardest thing in the world for people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/to-say-something-nice-about-themselves-this-is-the-hardest-thing-in/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [To say something nice about yourself, this is the hardest thing in the world for people to do. They'd rather take their clothes off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/to-say-something-nice-about-yourself-this-is-the-hardest-thing-in-the/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [Oh, I know all about my mother and me,' you may say. 'All that business with my mother was over years ago.' You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/oh-i-know-all-about-my-mother-and-me-you-may-say-all-that-business/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) [Explore all 32 Nancy Friday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [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/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Because society would rather we always wore a pretty face, women have been trained to cut off anger.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Friday" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/because-society-would-rather-we-always-wore-a-pretty-face-women-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/because-society-would-rather-we-always-wore-a-pretty-face-women-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/656/nancy-friday-19442_anger_because-society-would-rather-we-always-w_231218.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/656/nancy-friday-19442_anger_because-society-would-rather-we-always-w_231218.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/656/nancy-friday-19442_anger_because-society-would-rather-we-always-w_231218.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because society would rather we always wore a pretty face, women have been trained to cut off anger.” — Nancy Friday", "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": "Nancy Friday", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Because society would rather we always...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/because-society-would-rather-we-always-wore-a-pretty-face-women-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/because-society-would-rather-we-always-wore-a-pretty-face-women-have/#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 } } ] } ```