---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To refuse everything, to say, even when…"
description: "\"To refuse everything, to say, even when there is something which really should be done, \"Ah, that's no longer feminist,\" is a pessimistic, even masochi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/simone-de-beauvoir-407_done_to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-th_1901990.jpg"
---

#  To refuse everything, to say, even when there is something…

![“To refuse everything, to say, even when there is something which really should be done, &quot;Ah, that's no longer feminist,&quot; is a pessimistic, even masochistic tendency in women, the result of having been habituated to inertia, to pessimism.” quote by Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/simone-de-beauvoir-407_done_to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-th_1901990.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/simone-de-beauvoir-407_done_to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-th_1901990.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/simone-de-beauvoir-407_done_to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-th_1901990.jpg)

> “To refuse everything, to say, even when there is something which really should be done, "Ah, that's no longer feminist," is a pessimistic, even masochistic tendency in women, the result of having been habituated to inertia, to pessimism.”

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Women internalize inertia, labeling necessary action as “un‑feminist,” leading to pessimism and masochism.

**In simple terms:** Women reject action fearing it isn’t feminist.

Key Takeaway

Recognize agency as feminist.

Themes

feminism inertia masochism agency habitualism

Mood

critical empowering

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- activism
- career decisions
- personal growth

Key Concepts

existential feminism psychology social conditioning

Questions to Reflect On

- How can feminism empower action?
- What habits sustain inertia?

A Different Perspective

Risk of blaming all women for inertia.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Inertia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inertia/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) [Pessimistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimistic/)

## Related quotes

> [The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and the torture and pain. That's way I call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/the-only-way-to-be-a-champion-is-by-going-through-these-forced-reps/)

[Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/)

> [Those who delight in bad movies and enjoy producing their own unfilmed versions of Mystery Science Theater 3000 may gain a measure of semi-masochistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-berardinelli/those-who-delight-in-bad-movies-and-enjoy-producing-their-own/)

[James Berardinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-berardinelli/)

> [To limit yourself to a label of "alcoholic" is masochistic and false if you have awakened a deeper spiritual identity within and have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/to-limit-yourself-to-a-label-of-alcoholic-is-masochistic-and-false-if/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [It seems that it is only in the United States that an almost masochistic attack on the position of its own oil companies exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-j-mccloy/it-seems-that-it-is-only-in-the-united-states-that-an-almost/)

[John J. McCloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-j-mccloy/)

> [I want to be stereotyped. I want to be classified. I want to be a clone. I want to be masochistic. I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-aukerman/i-want-to-be-stereotyped-i-want-to-be-classified-i-want-to-be-a-clone/)

[Milo Aukerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-aukerman/)

> [Golfers have a tendency to be very masochistic. They like to punish themselves for some reason. A lot of them like tough courses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/golfers-have-a-tendency-to-be-very-masochistic-they-like-to-punish/)

[Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/)

> [Pain makes me grow. Growing is what I want. Therefore, for me pain is pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/pain-makes-me-grow-growing-is-what-i-want-therefore-for-me-pain-is/)

[Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/)

> [“and only much later, when Mascha wanted a child, did I realize that love is a deadly poison, a vice, a vice that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/and-only-much-later-when-mascha-wanted-a-child-did-i-realize-that/)

[Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/)

> [“When it comes to love, I realize that I am masochistic. They might consider me crazy for loving you despite everything that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-megan-varnadore/when-it-comes-to-love-i-realize-that-i-am-masochistic-they-might/)

[Jennifer Megan Varnadore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-megan-varnadore/)

> [I love the masochistic aspect of eating seething, real Sichuan food in Sichuan Province.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/i-love-the-masochistic-aspect-of-eating-seething-real-sichuan-food-in/)

[Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/)

> [“I poured myself another glass of wine (white, now warm and disgusting, but I was in a masochistic mood)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-gillard/i-poured-myself-another-glass-of-wine-white-now-warm-and-disgusting/)

[Linda Gillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-gillard/)

> [“The sexual fantasies of masochistic women have another curious and, unfortunately, predictable element. They almost always focus on the woman imagining how she can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-shainess/the-sexual-fantasies-of-masochistic-women-have-another-curious-and/)

Natalie Shainess

> [As I see it, our revolutionary task is to destroy phallic identity in men and masochistic non-identity in women--that is, to destroy the polar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/as-i-see-it-our-revolutionary-task-is-to-destroy-phallic-identity-in/)

[Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/)

> [To decide to film a movie again shot by shot, you must be masochistic to a certain degree because it is a much greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/to-decide-to-film-a-movie-again-shot-by-shot-you-must-be-masochistic/)

[Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/)

> [“There are many roles that people play and many images that they project. There is, for example, the "nice" man who is always smiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lowen/there-are-many-roles-that-people-play-and-many-images-that-they/)

[Alexander Lowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lowen/)

## More by Simone de Beauvoir

> [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Many things would be changed for Americans if they would only admit that there is ill-luck in this world and that misfortune is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/many-things-would-be-changed-for-americans-if-they-would-only-admit/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [“You said something very true the other day: that for us, nudity begins with the face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/you-said-something-very-true-the-other-day-that-for-us-nudity-begins/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [“Ženama se ne rađamo, nego postajemo”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/enama-se-ne-ra-amo-nego-postajemo/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Life is occupied in both perpetuating itself and in surpassing itself; if all it does is maintain itself, then living is only not dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/life-is-occupied-in-both-perpetuating-itself-and-in-surpassing-itself/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Fathers never have exactly the daughters they want because they invent a notion a them that the daughters have to conform to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/fathers-never-have-exactly-the-daughters-they-want-because-they/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [However gifted an individual is at the outset, if his or her talents cannot be developed because of his or her social condition, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/however-gifted-an-individual-is-at-the-outset-if-his-or-her-talents/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [In fact, people seem to be tired of fiction now. There are so many other ways of exploring humanity - by ethnology, psychoanalysis, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/in-fact-people-seem-to-be-tired-of-fiction-now-there-are-so-many/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Feminism is one way of attacking society as it now exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/feminism-is-one-way-of-attacking-society-as-it-now-exists/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [“Magari mi troverai ridicola, ma mi disprezzerei se non osassi esserlo mai”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/magari-mi-troverai-ridicola-ma-mi-disprezzerei-se-non-osassi-esserlo/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [from one minute to the next the present is merely an honorary past. It must be filled unceasingly anew to dissemble the curse it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/from-one-minute-to-the-next-the-present-is-merely-an-honorary-past-it/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life. I want to be a woman and to be a man, to have many friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/i-am-awfully-greedy-i-want-everything-from-life-i-want-to-be-a-woman/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [“I enjoyed my exhaustion, though; I liked overdoing things”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/i-enjoyed-my-exhaustion-though-i-liked-overdoing-things/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [“But I miss you to the point of anguish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/but-i-miss-you-to-the-point-of-anguish/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

[Explore all 488 Simone de Beauvoir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

## More Done quotes

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/)

[Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/)

[Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/)

> [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/)

[Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/)

[Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/)

> [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/)

[Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/)

> [I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua/i-don-t-enjoy-killing-but-when-done-righteously-it-s-just-a-chore/)

[Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua/)

> [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/)

[Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/)

Browse all 25,653 Done quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To refuse everything, to say, even when there is something which really should be done, \"Ah, that's no longer feminist,\" is a pessimistic, even masochistic tendency in women, the result of having been habituated to inertia, to pessimism.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Simone de Beauvoir"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-there-is-something-which-really/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Done"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-there-is-something-which-really/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/simone-de-beauvoir-407_done_to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-th_1901990.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/simone-de-beauvoir-407_done_to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-th_1901990.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/simone-de-beauvoir-407_done_to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-th_1901990.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To refuse everything, to say, even when there is something which really should be done, \"Ah, that's no…” — Simone de Beauvoir",
                "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": "Simone de Beauvoir",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To refuse everything, to say, even...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-there-is-something-which-really/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/to-refuse-everything-to-say-even-when-there-is-something-which-really/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
