--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason for privacy is not so that…" description: "\"The reason for privacy is not so that people will not know you go to the bathroom. It's to allow certain things to go on that you don't want other peop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/samuel-r-delany-2591_bathroom_the-reason-for-privacy-is-not-so-that-pe_2182329.png" --- # The reason for privacy is not so that people will not know… ![“The reason for privacy is not so that people will not know you go to the bathroom. It's to allow certain things to go on that you don't want other people to know about, when all is said and done. But the things I don't want other people to know about are not my sex life.” quote by Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/samuel-r-delany-2591_bathroom_the-reason-for-privacy-is-not-so-that-pe_2182329.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/samuel-r-delany-2591_bathroom_the-reason-for-privacy-is-not-so-that-pe_2182329.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c55/samuel-r-delany-2591_bathroom_the-reason-for-privacy-is-not-so-that-pe_2182329.png) > “The reason for privacy is not so that people will not know you go to the bathroom. It's to allow certain things to go on that you don't want other people to know about, when all is said and done. But the things I don't want other people to know about are not my sex life.” [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Privacy protects personal matters beyond basic bodily functions, shielding intimate aspects from public scrutiny. **In simple terms:** Privacy hides intimate details, not bathroom trips. Key Takeaway Guard personal boundaries. Themes privacy intimacy society Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - online activity - medical records - personal relationships - workplace policies Key Concepts ethics social norms Questions to Reflect On - What deserves privacy? - How to balance transparency and secrecy? A Different Perspective Privacy can be misused to hide harmful behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Privacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privacy/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sex life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-life/) ## Related quotes > [Ultimately, the reason privacy is so vital is it's the realm in which we can do all the things that are valuable as human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/ultimately-the-reason-privacy-is-so-vital-is-it-s-the-realm-in-which/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I can't enjoy a party until I know where the bathroom is. You knew that when you married me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hill/i-can-t-enjoy-a-party-until-i-know-where-the-bathroom-is-you-knew/) [Hank Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hill/) > [Facebook lets you know what someone's bathroom looks like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-waz/facebook-lets-you-know-what-someone-s-bathroom-looks-like/) [Danny Waz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-waz/) > [“The many pro-surveillance advocates I have debated since Snowden blew the whistle have been quick to echo Eric Schmidt’s view that privacy is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-many-pro-surveillance-advocates-i-have-debated-since-snowden-blew/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Reputations are maintained by the outside world, and they're created by it, too, by and large. And they serve as a hell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-penn/reputations-are-maintained-by-the-outside-world-and-they-re-created/) [Sean Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-penn/) > [You lose your privacy, and sometimes, people don't see you as human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-wayans/you-lose-your-privacy-and-sometimes-people-don-t-see-you-as-human/) [Shawn Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-wayans/) > [“The multiple human needs and desires that demand privacy among two or more people in the midst of social life must inevitably lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kahn/the-multiple-human-needs-and-desires-that-demand-privacy-among-two-or/) [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) > [In terms of security and privacy, what people care about the most is the privacy of their messages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/in-terms-of-security-and-privacy-what-people-care-about-the-most-is/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [“Similarly, those Internet tycoons who are apparently so willing to devalue our privacy are vehemently protective of their own. Google insisted on a policy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/similarly-those-internet-tycoons-who-are-apparently-so-willing-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are people who are always going to try to engage in activity that is illegal and they're going to try to subvert surveillance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-poitras/there-are-people-who-are-always-going-to-try-to-engage-in-activity/) [Laura Poitras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-poitras/) > [For the longest time, I was just real nervous about privacy and people prying into my personal business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/for-the-longest-time-i-was-just-real-nervous-about-privacy-and-people/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) > [“Sphere of privacy, people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-huss/sphere-of-privacy-people/) [J.A. Huss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-huss/) > [I am entitled to my privacy. People say, 'No, you're not entitled to your privacy because you married a famous person and you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaria-baldwin/i-am-entitled-to-my-privacy-people-say-no-you-re-not-entitled-to-your/) [Hilaria Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaria-baldwin/) > [Music for me is something I prefer to keep away form the whole business part of my life. I feel like everything I do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milla-jovovich/music-for-me-is-something-i-prefer-to-keep-away-form-the-whole/) [Milla Jovovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milla-jovovich/) > [Personally, I think I pay a big price with my body, my time and with never being able to have privacy when I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicklas-bendtner/personally-i-think-i-pay-a-big-price-with-my-body-my-time-and-with/) [Nicklas Bendtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicklas-bendtner/) ## More by Samuel R. Delany > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [What you are will make you what you will become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/what-you-are-will-make-you-what-you-will-become/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“People probably do hear watches go tic-tok. But I’m sure my childhood clock went tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic…Why”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/people-probably-do-hear-watches-go-tic-tok-but-i-m-sure-my-childhood/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“I wanted to get out, Vyme, to keep going and not be trapped, to be free… only I was cruel. I had the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/i-wanted-to-get-out-vyme-to-keep-going-and-not-be-trapped-to-be-free/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [A number of things in 'Dhalgren' are just meant to function as mysteries. They're mysteries when the book begins, and they're mysteries when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-number-of-things-in-dhalgren-are-just-meant-to-function-as/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [The pulp hero, though he may be a renegade, is a guy who doesn't feel. Anything. Ever. And for the adolescent male - pummeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/the-pulp-hero-though-he-may-be-a-renegade-is-a-guy-who-doesn-t-feel/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“they were nice in a useless sort of way, which is, after all, the only way to be truly nice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/they-were-nice-in-a-useless-sort-of-way-which-is-after-all-the-only/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [From 1968 on, I was pretty much the black, gay SF writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/from-1968-on-i-was-pretty-much-the-black-gay-sf-writer/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Neurotics, proceed with delusions of grandeur. Napoleon Bonaparte, take the lead. Jesus Christ, bring up the rear. Simulate severe depression. Non-communicative with repressed hostility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/neurotics-proceed-with-delusions-of-grandeur-napoleon-bonaparte-take/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Do you follow the wrestling? Most people think it's illegal, but you can watch it there. Ruby and Python are on display this evening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/do-you-follow-the-wrestling-most-people-think-it-s-illegal-but-you/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Spending practically every minute of your day on pure survival is an absolutely boring life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/spending-practically-every-minute-of-your-day-on-pure-survival-is-an/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [When what is is congruent to what is supposed, the reaction is functional and the mental processes competent. When what is and what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/when-what-is-is-congruent-to-what-is-supposed-the-reaction-is/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Everyone in a position of authority is hysterical, and everyone else is pretending to be asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/everyone-in-a-position-of-authority-is-hysterical-and-everyone-else/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Since I spent eighteen years of my life as a child, and nine years of that life as a pretty sexually active gay child,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/since-i-spent-eighteen-years-of-my-life-as-a-child-and-nine-years-of/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) [Explore all 158 Samuel R. Delany quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) ## More Bathroom quotes > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Ill-fitting grammar are like ill-fitting shoes. You can get used to it for a bit, but then one day your toes fall off and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/ill-fitting-grammar-are-like-ill-fitting-shoes-you-can-get-used-to-it/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [You know, I'm the only one in this family who has no problems, . . . And you know why? Because any time I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-i-m-the-only-one-in-this-family-who-has-no-problems-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“bathroom—if you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/bathroom-if-you/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-took-a-wrong-turn-on-the-way-to-the-bathroom-and-found-myself-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the 1998 Oscars, I found myself in the bathroom in a stall, next to Tom Selleck. So I leaned over and I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/in-the-1998-oscars-i-found-myself-in-the-bathroom-in-a-stall-next-to/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [My pet peeve is hearing a knock on the bathroom door followed by the familiar words, 'What are you doing in there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-scalf-linamen/my-pet-peeve-is-hearing-a-knock-on-the-bathroom-door-followed-by-the/) [Karen Scalf Linamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-scalf-linamen/) > [Using a public bathroom is an incredibly embarrassing experience. I enter the stall but can't reach the lock on the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-burke/using-a-public-bathroom-is-an-incredibly-embarrassing-experience-i/) [Sinead Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-burke/) > [I get really nervous if pigeons are flying around before shows. I can't stand them after one once flew in through my bathroom window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-horan/i-get-really-nervous-if-pigeons-are-flying-around-before-shows-i-can/) [Niall Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-horan/) > [“I'll meet you outside," I said. No way was I actually doing to shout 'I have to pee' at the top of my lungs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-lennon/i-ll-meet-you-outside-i-said-no-way-was-i-actually-doing-to-shout-i/) Stella Lennon > [I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-grew-up-with-six-brothers-that-s-how-i-learned-to-dance-waiting-for/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [How are we doing, Simon?" she whispered into the small microphone in her collar. "Just about..." Simon started slowly. And then he stopped. "Wow."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/how-are-we-doing-simon-she-whispered-into-the-small-microphone-in-her/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. His specialty is rhythm songs which he renders in an undistinguished whine; his phrasing, if it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gould/mr-presley-has-no-discernible-singing-ability-his-specialty-is-rhythm/) [Jack Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gould/) > [To take one example, I mean, the whole issue of bathrooms and gender - in this particular election, when the stakes were so high,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/to-take-one-example-i-mean-the-whole-issue-of-bathrooms-and-gender-in/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) Browse all 726 Bathroom quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason for privacy is not so that people will not know you go to the bathroom. It's to allow certain things to go on that you don't want other people to know about, when all is said and done. 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