--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men's sexual freedom has depended, and…" description: "\"“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 women as..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/sheila-jeffreys-20069_freedom_men-s-sexual-freedom-has-depended-and-st_817629.png" --- # Men's sexual freedom has depended, and still does to a… ![“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 women as things to be used. Women are still regularly raped in marriage, even though most Western countries have now changed their laws to recognize that…” quote by Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/sheila-jeffreys-20069_freedom_men-s-sexual-freedom-has-depended-and-st_817629.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/sheila-jeffreys-20069_freedom_men-s-sexual-freedom-has-depended-and-st_817629.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/sheila-jeffreys-20069_freedom_men-s-sexual-freedom-has-depended-and-st_817629.png) > ““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 women as things to be used. Women are still regularly raped in marriage, even though most Western countries have now changed their laws to recognize that wives have a right not to be raped. Women are still bought and sold in marriage in many countries, and in the vast majority of countries of the world their bodies are still legally owned by their husbands. In prostitution and pornography, the mail-order bride business and reproductive surrogacy, the international trade in women is a burgeoning industry. Men's ownership of women's bodies has been the substrate on which their idea of sexual freedom was born and given its meaning. This is why it includes the right to buy access to women, men, and children as an important way of demonstrating that freedom. At the base of men's sexual freedom agenda is the concept of the rights of the male individual. Pateman points out that women cannot gain recognition as individuals, since the very concept of the 'individual' is male.”” [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. The quote argues that men's sexual liberty is built on treating women as property, which persists in many legal and cultural practices worldwide. **In simple terms:** Men’s freedom depends on owning women’s bodies. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge ownership of women. Themes gender inequality sexual autonomy human rights legal oppression Mood critical urgent Type political analytical When to use this quote - marriage law reform - human trafficking prevention - sex education - policy advocacy Key Concepts patriarchal ownership bodily autonomy intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How does property language shape gender power? - What steps can dismantle ownership mindsets? A Different Perspective Legal reforms often lag behind cultural change, limiting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [International trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-trade/) [Men Ownership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-ownership-341204/) [Ownership Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ownership-women-289892/) [Rights Male](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-male-341205/) [Sexual Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-freedom-341203/) [Women Bodies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-bodies/) ## Related quotes > [Any discussion involving the ownership of women's bodies is one to be had! We must manifest the right!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersey-clemons/any-discussion-involving-the-ownership-of-women-s-bodies-is-one-to-be/) [Kiersey Clemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersey-clemons/) > [From the ownership of women the concept of ownership extends itself to include the products of their industry, and so there arises the ownership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorstein-veblen/from-the-ownership-of-women-the-concept-of-ownership-extends-itself/) [Thorstein Veblen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorstein-veblen/) > [I saw some women had written that the cloning of Dolly was wonderful since it showed that women could have children without men. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/i-saw-some-women-had-written-that-the-cloning-of-dolly-was-wonderful/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [“...women's bodies are "inferiorised, stigmatized . . . within an overarching patriarchal ideology. For example, biologically and physiologically, women's bodies are seen as both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/women-s-bodies-are-inferiorised-stigmatized-within-an-overarching/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) > [The marriage-based society...discourages all the competing alternatives to marriage. You can't have a marriage-based society and a social value of sexual freedom. They don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lively/the-marriage-based-society-discourages-all-the-competing-alternatives/) [Scott Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lively/) > [“It’s not so simple. Many girls suffer terribly, being unable to make up their minds. Or else they give in to desire but are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-s-not-so-simple-many-girls-suffer-terribly-being-unable-to-make-up/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [To me, "sexual freedom" means freedom from having to have sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/to-me-sexual-freedom-means-freedom-from-having-to-have-sex/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/we-objected-to-the-morality-because-it-interfered-with-our-sexual/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The girl who grew up watching old Madonna videos wants to embrace my sexual freedom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lex-martin/the-girl-who-grew-up-watching-old-madonna-videos-wants-to-embrace-my/) [Lex Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lex-martin/) > [The powers that be understand that sexual freedom or liberation with any kind of joy means they are losing control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-dodson/the-powers-that-be-understand-that-sexual-freedom-or-liberation-with/) [Betty Dodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-dodson/) > [Those who have prophesied dreadful consequences as a result of the greater sexual freedom which the young assert - unwanted babies, venereal disease and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/those-who-have-prophesied-dreadful-consequences-as-a-result-of-the/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [Sexual freedom is about choice. It's the freedom to say no as well as yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-b-rubin/sexual-freedom-is-about-choice-it-s-the-freedom-to-say-no-as-well-as/) [Lillian B. Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-b-rubin/) > [“Frances Wright was a writer, founder of a utopian community, immigrant from Scotland in 1824, a fighter for the emancipation of slaves, for birth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/frances-wright-was-a-writer-founder-of-a-utopian-community-immigrant/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“What drove us crazy wasn't necessarily the sexual freedom his critic claimed he was unleashing, but freedom, period. Freedom to be yourself, to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spector-larry-geller-patricia-romanowski/what-drove-us-crazy-wasn-t-necessarily-the-sexual-freedom-his-critic/) [Joel Spector Larry Geller Patricia Romanowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spector-larry-geller-patricia-romanowski/) > [As political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends correspondingly to increase. And the dictator will do well to encourage that freedom...it will help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/as-political-and-economic-freedom-diminishes-sexual-freedom-tends/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## 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. 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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 ideas about what women are have been formed from their ruling caste position, and have assigned women characteristics that would most advantage their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/men-s-ideas-about-what-women-are-have-been-formed-from-their-ruling/) [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 Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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In prostitution and pornography, the mail-order bride business and reproductive surrogacy, the international trade in women is a burgeoning industry. Men's ownership of women's bodies has been the substrate on which their idea of sexual freedom was born and given its meaning. This is why it includes the right to buy access to women, men, and children as an important way of demonstrating that freedom. At the base of men's sexual freedom agenda is the concept of the rights of the male individual. 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