--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men's ideas about what women are have…" description: "\"Men's ideas about what women are have been formed from their ruling caste position, and have assigned women characteristics that would most advantage t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/sheila-jeffreys-20069_advantage_men-s-ideas-about-what-women-are-have-be_891299.png" --- # Men's ideas about what women are have been formed from… ![“Men's ideas about what women are have been formed from their ruling caste position, and have assigned women characteristics that would most advantage their masters, as well as justify men's rule over them. They do not represent 'truth' but have been promoted as if they were, with the backing of…” quote by Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/sheila-jeffreys-20069_advantage_men-s-ideas-about-what-women-are-have-be_891299.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/sheila-jeffreys-20069_advantage_men-s-ideas-about-what-women-are-have-be_891299.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77e/sheila-jeffreys-20069_advantage_men-s-ideas-about-what-women-are-have-be_891299.png) > “Men's ideas about what women are have been formed from their ruling caste position, and have assigned women characteristics that would most advantage their masters, as well as justify men's rule over them. They do not represent 'truth' but have been promoted as if they were, with the backing of science and patriarchal views of biology.” [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Men's ideas about women are shaped by power structures, assigning traits that benefit male dominance rather than reflecting reality. **In simple terms:** Male power shapes stereotypes about women. Key Takeaway Question power and challenge stereotypes. Themes gender power stereotypes patriarchy science biology Mood critical analytical Type explanatory critical When to use this quote - academic debate - policy making - education curricula - media analysis Key Concepts feminist theory social constructionism critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How do power dynamics influence scientific narratives? - What evidence challenges these gendered assumptions? A Different Perspective Scientific claims can be misused to legitimize oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Castes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castes/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [I agree today that a man has no business trying to tell women what their characteristics are, which ones are inborn, which are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/i-agree-today-that-a-man-has-no-business-trying-to-tell-women-what/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [Most of the women I saw on TV didn't seem like people I actually knew. They felt like ideas of what women are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/most-of-the-women-i-saw-on-tv-didn-t-seem-like-people-i-actually-knew/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [“I have observed a phenomena about women in this community and is how quick they are able to form opinions and "ideas" about other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-evans/i-have-observed-a-phenomena-about-women-in-this-community-and-is-how/) [Crystal Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-evans/) > [Susan B. Anthony formed the Equal Rights Association, refuted ideas that women were inferior to men, and fought for a woman's right to vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-slaughter/susan-b-anthony-formed-the-equal-rights-association-refuted-ideas/) [Louise Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-slaughter/) > [“By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me. They meet all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/by-god-i-may-be-old-fashioned-in-my-ideas-but-women-run-around-too/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [As a feminist, I consider the female pronoun to be an honorific, a term that conveys respect. Respect is due to women as members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/as-a-feminist-i-consider-the-female-pronoun-to-be-an-honorific-a-term/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Men's ideas are the most direct emanations of their material state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/men-s-ideas-are-the-most-direct-emanations-of-their-material-state/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The finest minds seem to be formed rather by efforts at original thinking, by endeavours to form new combinations, and to discover new truths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-finest-minds-seem-to-be-formed-rather-by-efforts-at-original/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [“Like so many men he had found that he had only one or two ideas - that his little collection of pamphlets now in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/like-so-many-men-he-had-found-that-he-had-only-one-or-two-ideas-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Never was my political stance determined by the men I was with. I had my own ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gioconda-belli/never-was-my-political-stance-determined-by-the-men-i-was-with-i-had/) [Gioconda Belli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gioconda-belli/) > [Men of ideas and men of action have much to learn from each other, and the truly great are men of both action and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-donovan/men-of-ideas-and-men-of-action-have-much-to-learn-from-each-other-and/) [Jack Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-donovan/) > [Reason is the tool men use to determine if their statements about reality are valid: there is no other. Those who do not or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/reason-is-the-tool-men-use-to-determine-if-their-statements-about/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“It is eminently reasonable that men should seek to associate with those who share their convictions and values. It is impossible to deal or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-is-eminently-reasonable-that-men-should-seek-to-associate-with/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Men in general are too material and do not make enough human contacts. If we search for the fundamentals which actually motivate us we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-s-jordan/men-in-general-are-too-material-and-do-not-make-enough-human-contacts/) Edward S. Jordan > [Keep away from books and from men who get their ideas from books, and your own books will always be fresh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/keep-away-from-books-and-from-men-who-get-their-ideas-from-books-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Sheila Jeffreys > [“Women incorporate the values of the male sexual objectifiers within themselves. Catharine MacKinnon calls this being "thingified" in the head (MacKinnon, 1989). They learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/women-incorporate-the-values-of-the-male-sexual-objectifiers-within/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Men have been adjudicating on what women are, and how they should behave, for millennia through the institutions of social control such as religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/men-have-been-adjudicating-on-what-women-are-and-how-they-should/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Girls learn to love and have sexual feelings in a position of low status, and the eroticization of powerlessness is a normal part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/girls-learn-to-love-and-have-sexual-feelings-in-a-position-of-low/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [As a feminist, I consider the female pronoun to be an honorific, a term that conveys respect. Respect is due to women as members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/as-a-feminist-i-consider-the-female-pronoun-to-be-an-honorific-a-term/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [“The main problem for women trying to emulate male sexuality is that as a ruling-class sexuality, it is constructed around the fact that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/the-main-problem-for-women-trying-to-emulate-male-sexuality-is-that/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [“Both the veil and makeup are often seen as voluntary behaviours by women, taken up by choice and to express agency. But in both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/both-the-veil-and-makeup-are-often-seen-as-voluntary-behaviours-by/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [“Men's sexual freedom has depended, and still does to a large extent, upon their ownership of women's bodies. Men have bought, sold and traded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/men-s-sexual-freedom-has-depended-and-still-does-to-a-large-extent/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Pornography is not egalitarian and gender-free. It is predicated upon the inequality of women and is the propaganda that makes that inequality sexy. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/pornography-is-not-egalitarian-and-gender-free-it-is-predicated-upon/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Masculinity cannot exist without femininity. On its own, masculinity has no meaning, because it is but one half of a set of power relations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/masculinity-cannot-exist-without-femininity-on-its-own-masculinity/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Male supremacy is centered on the act of sexual intercourse, justified by heterosexual practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/male-supremacy-is-centered-on-the-act-of-sexual-intercourse-justified/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Masculinity is part of a binary and requires its opposite, since, in the absence of femininity, masculinity would have no meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/masculinity-is-part-of-a-binary-and-requires-its-opposite-since-in/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [The opposite of heterosexual desire is the eroticising of sameness, a sameness of power, equality and mutuality. It is homosexual desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/the-opposite-of-heterosexual-desire-is-the-eroticising-of-sameness-a/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [“The effect of legalised prostitution on women outside prostitution is to lower the status of all women. Women are recognised by the state in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/the-effect-of-legalised-prostitution-on-women-outside-prostitution-is/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [Male domination, and the low and stigmatised status of women, cause teenage girls to engage in punishment of their bodies through eating disorders and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/male-domination-and-the-low-and-stigmatised-status-of-women-cause/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [“For women as a class, the ability to transform sexual practice, to achieve respect from men as equal human beings and thus break out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/for-women-as-a-class-the-ability-to-transform-sexual-practice-to/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) [Explore all 31 Sheila Jeffreys quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) ## More Advantage quotes > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. 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