--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And even though I knew in my head there’s…" description: "\"“And even though I knew in my head there’s nothing a man can do that a woman can’t, I also knew in my heart we can’t help doing it for different reason..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/pam-houston-11232_gender-roles_and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there_589883.jpg" --- # And even though I knew in my head there’s nothing a man… ![“And even though I knew in my head there’s nothing a man can do that a woman can’t, I also knew in my heart we can’t help doing it for different reasons. And just like a man will never understand exactly how a woman feels when she has a baby, or an orgasm, or the reasons why she’ll fight so hard to…” quote by Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/pam-houston-11232_gender-roles_and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there_589883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/pam-houston-11232_gender-roles_and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there_589883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/pam-houston-11232_gender-roles_and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there_589883.jpg) > ““And even though I knew in my head there’s nothing a man can do that a woman can’t, I also knew in my heart we can’t help doing it for different reasons. And just like a man will never understand exactly how a woman feels when she has a baby, or an orgasm, or the reasons why she’ll fight so hard to be loved, a woman can’t know in what way a man satisfies himself, what question he answers for himself, when he looks right at death.”” [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Men and women experience life differently, yet both are driven by deep, often unconscious, motivations that shape actions. **In simple terms:** Gender perspectives differ but share deep drives. Key Takeaway Recognize unseen motivations in yourself and others. Themes gender psychology relationships Mood reflective empathetic Type psychological social When to use this quote - marriage - parenthood - career choices - intimate relationships Key Concepts sociology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What unseen motivations drive your actions? - How do gender expectations affect your decisions? A Different Perspective Assuming universal experiences can ignore individual variance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Gender roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-roles/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [“The only feeling that a closer intimacy has created in him for his wife is that of indulgent contempt. As there is no equality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/the-only-feeling-that-a-closer-intimacy-has-created-in-him-for-his/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Has a woman who knew she was well-dressed ever caught a cold?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/has-a-woman-who-knew-she-was-well-dressed-ever-caught-a-cold/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“For a moment he saw everything in her eyes: a love that would last their entire lives, a vulnerability that would never go away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/for-a-moment-he-saw-everything-in-her-eyes-a-love-that-would-last/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [“I’d fire that woman if I knew how to operate a vacuum.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-w-hill/i-d-fire-that-woman-if-i-knew-how-to-operate-a-vacuum/) [Joey W. Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-w-hill/) > [“She was sharp and obviously loyal. I’d never even seen her. But apparently, I didn’t have to. Just sitting there and reading the fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-l-jackson/she-was-sharp-and-obviously-loyal-i-d-never-even-seen-her-but/) [A.L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-l-jackson/) > [“To know exactly what I wanted to hear in those notes, to woo me back to her, even to predict all my wrong moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/to-know-exactly-what-i-wanted-to-hear-in-those-notes-to-woo-me-back/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Yes, she was young and inexperienced, but by God, she was a woman who knew what she wanted. Today had proved that she could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisha-rai/yes-she-was-young-and-inexperienced-but-by-god-she-was-a-woman-who/) [Alisha Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisha-rai/) > [“A woman who knew her own mind and scorned the conventions of polite society. We were going to get along just fine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/a-woman-who-knew-her-own-mind-and-scorned-the-conventions-of-polite/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [Beside her, her husband could only splutter, and he stopped even that when she half turned to flash him a smile - the instinctive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/beside-her-her-husband-could-only-splutter-and-he-stopped-even-that/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [Olga E. Kagan was the strongest woman I knew - and probably the reason I've spent my life with other strong women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/olga-e-kagan-was-the-strongest-woman-i-knew-and-probably-the-reason-i/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [“I Knew a Woman" I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-knew-a-woman-i-knew-a-woman-lovely-in-her-bones-when-small-birds/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“Nyx was not a nice woman. She knew she didn’t deal with nice women. But she also knew the worst sorts of things these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/nyx-was-not-a-nice-woman-she-knew-she-didn-t-deal-with-nice-women-but/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [“How very scared I was of everything, and in the end how very scared I was of her. This woman I knew, and did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-christie/how-very-scared-i-was-of-everything-and-in-the-end-how-very-scared-i/) James Christie > [“Press button woman was there for him For whatever he was wanting. No demand was too big Press button woman knew her gig.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/press-button-woman-was-there-for-him-for-whatever-he-was-wanting-no/) Initially NO > [“I am a very possessive woman. But I knew that if I were to keep you, I would have to let go of you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-nagarkar/i-am-a-very-possessive-woman-but-i-knew-that-if-i-were-to-keep-you-i/) [Kiran Nagarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-nagarkar/) ## More by Pam Houston > [Give me a labyrinth to walk and I can usually free my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/give-me-a-labyrinth-to-walk-and-i-can-usually-free-my-mind/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [When a book is in its final stages, I've just got to be home, looking at it seventeen hours a day, and that's fine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/when-a-book-is-in-its-final-stages-i-ve-just-got-to-be-home-looking/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [I've been to a lot of school and read a lot of thick books, but at my very core there's a made-for-TV-movie mentality I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/i-ve-been-to-a-lot-of-school-and-read-a-lot-of-thick-books-but-at-my/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [Life gives us what we need when we need it; receiving what it gives us is a whole other thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/life-gives-us-what-we-need-when-we-need-it-receiving-what-it-gives-us/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [Cheryl Strayed is a courageous, gritty, and deceptively elegant writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/cheryl-strayed-is-a-courageous-gritty-and-deceptively-elegant-writer/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [Sometimes no matter how well you prepare, no matter how conservative your decision making, no matter how few Y chromosomes are along on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/sometimes-no-matter-how-well-you-prepare-no-matter-how-conservative/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [Stillness is a harder concept for me than ecstasy, but I can imagine it best when I am fully present and paying strict attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/stillness-is-a-harder-concept-for-me-than-ecstasy-but-i-can-imagine/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [“I still don't see how it would make me feel any better to think of the pain in my hip and spine as anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/i-still-don-t-see-how-it-would-make-me-feel-any-better-to-think-of/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [My parents were travelers. Every time my parents got ten dollars ahead they went somewhere. That's what they did. So I got the bug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/my-parents-were-travelers-every-time-my-parents-got-ten-dollars-ahead/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [“Find yourself a place in the universe,' she said, 'a place where the dirt feels like goodness under your feet. Take the right picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/find-yourself-a-place-in-the-universe-she-said-a-place-where-the-dirt/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [I'm always out looking for weird, beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/i-m-always-out-looking-for-weird-beautiful-things/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [I always think, when I'm in motion, writing seems like the most natural thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/i-always-think-when-i-m-in-motion-writing-seems-like-the-most-natural/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [I'm about going out in the world and noticing stuff, and going home and writing it down, and putting it next to other stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/i-m-about-going-out-in-the-world-and-noticing-stuff-and-going-home/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [Traveling is my priority, because it drives the writing, so I teach around the travel, and sometimes the travel is the teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/traveling-is-my-priority-because-it-drives-the-writing-so-i-teach/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [I've always traveled. I'm a professor in a limited way. I teach one class two quarters out of four, so I get traveling done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/i-ve-always-traveled-i-m-a-professor-in-a-limited-way-i-teach-one/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) [Explore all 61 Pam Houston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) ## More Feminism quotes > [“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/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/) [Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/) > [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/) Joseph Joffre > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind [Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And even though I knew in my head there’s nothing a man can do that a woman can’t, I also knew in my heart we can’t help doing it for different reasons. And just like a man will never understand exactly how a woman feels when she has a baby, or an orgasm, or the reasons why she’ll fight so hard to be loved, a woman can’t know in what way a man satisfies himself, what question he answers for himself, when he looks right at death.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pam Houston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there-s-nothing-a-man-can-do-that-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feminism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there-s-nothing-a-man-can-do-that-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/pam-houston-11232_gender-roles_and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there_589883.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/pam-houston-11232_gender-roles_and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there_589883.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/pam-houston-11232_gender-roles_and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there_589883.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And even though I knew in my head there’s nothing a man can do that a woman can’t, I also knew in my heart…” — Pam Houston", "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": "Pam Houston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And even though I knew in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there-s-nothing-a-man-can-do-that-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/and-even-though-i-knew-in-my-head-there-s-nothing-a-man-can-do-that-a/#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 } } ] } ```