--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No man can be really free in bed with a…" description: "\"No man can be really free in bed with a woman who is not.\" — Nancy Friday" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/nancy-friday-19442_bed_no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a_1889199.png" --- # No man can be really free in bed with a woman who is not. ![“No man can be really free in bed with a woman who is not.” quote by Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/nancy-friday-19442_bed_no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a_1889199.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/nancy-friday-19442_bed_no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a_1889199.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/nancy-friday-19442_bed_no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a_1889199.png) > “No man can be really free in bed with a woman who is not.” [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. True freedom in bed requires mutual consent and equality; without it, one partner remains constrained. **In simple terms:** Freedom in intimacy needs mutual consent. Key Takeaway Seek equality in relationships. Themes gender sexuality freedom Mood empathetic serious Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - intimate relationships - therapy - education Key Concepts consent power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure mutual freedom? - What barriers prevent true equality? A Different Perspective Power imbalances can persist despite intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) ## Related quotes > [Man is really free, the real man cannot but be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/man-is-really-free-the-real-man-cannot-but-be-free/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [It is only when a man is alone that he is really free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-only-when-a-man-is-alone-that-he-is-really-free/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [When Jeff Sachs says every poor person should receive a free bed net, I agree - but in reality, many end up not receiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/when-jeff-sachs-says-every-poor-person-should-receive-a-free-bed-net/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [A beautiful woman that can go out and then come home alone and lay in bed alone, is a woman with standards and self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-beautiful-woman-that-can-go-out-and-then-come-home-alone-and-lay-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Agatha Christie has given more pleasure in bed than any other woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/agatha-christie-has-given-more-pleasure-in-bed-than-any-other-woman/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't go to bed with any woman crazier than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/don-t-go-to-bed-with-any-woman-crazier-than-you-are/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [When a man falls in love, he wants to go to bed. When a woman falls in love, she wants to talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/when-a-man-falls-in-love-he-wants-to-go-to-bed-when-a-woman-falls-in/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Were kisses all the joys in bed, One woman would another wed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/were-kisses-all-the-joys-in-bed-one-woman-would-another-wed/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A girl gives you breakfast in bed. The woman gives you breakfast and head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/a-girl-gives-you-breakfast-in-bed-the-woman-gives-you-breakfast-and/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [A dark room with some low-level whale music and a flat bed and a woman pulling your shoulder back and forth is a happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/a-dark-room-with-some-low-level-whale-music-and-a-flat-bed-and-a/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [“He was lying in bed with the woman he loved . . . a woman he couldn't make love to. He closed his eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/he-was-lying-in-bed-with-the-woman-he-loved-a-woman-he-couldn-t-make/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [“Bed the woman until neither of you can walk, and get her out of your system. Remember, no matter what they are or where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/bed-the-woman-until-neither-of-you-can-walk-and-get-her-out-of-your/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I won't sleep in the same bed with a woman who thinks I'm lazy! I'm going right downstairs, unfold the couch, unroll the sleeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-castellaneta/i-won-t-sleep-in-the-same-bed-with-a-woman-who-thinks-i-m-lazy-i-m/) [Dan Castellaneta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-castellaneta/) > [“(Isabelle) “You can do whatever you’d like at my house.” He raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Within reason,” she added. “If I find you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-giordano/isabelle-you-can-do-whatever-you-d-like-at-my-house-he-raised-his/) Adrienne Giordano > [“But nothing's really free, is it? People always make you pay one way or another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/but-nothing-s-really-free-is-it-people-always-make-you-pay-one-way-or/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) ## 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/) > [Because society would rather we always wore a pretty face, women have been trained to cut off anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/because-society-would-rather-we-always-wore-a-pretty-face-women-have/) [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. It is a controlling idea that holds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/if-you-believe-in-the-maternal-instinct-and-fail-at-mother-love-you/) [Nancy Friday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) > [Sexuality is the great field of battle between biology and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/sexuality-is-the-great-field-of-battle-between-biology-and-society/) [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/) > [“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/) [Explore all 32 Nancy Friday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-friday/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I always wanted to be a movie star. I thought it meant being famous and having breakfast in bed. I didn't know you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-allyson/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-movie-star-i-thought-it-meant-being-famous/) [June Allyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-allyson/) Browse all 4,159 Bed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No man can be really free in bed with a woman who is not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Friday" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a-woman-who-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a-woman-who-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/nancy-friday-19442_bed_no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a_1889199.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/nancy-friday-19442_bed_no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a_1889199.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ff/nancy-friday-19442_bed_no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a_1889199.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No man can be really free in bed with a woman who is not.” — 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": "No man can be really free...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a-woman-who-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-friday/no-man-can-be-really-free-in-bed-with-a-woman-who-is-not/#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 } } ] } ```