--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things are much more complicated…" description: "\"Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think it's goo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-lehrer-3442_both-sides_things-are-much-more-complicated-feminis_804673.jpg" --- # Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus… ![“Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think it's good. I have become, you might call it mature - I would call it senile - and I can see both sides. But you can't write a satirical song with 'but on…” quote by Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-lehrer-3442_both-sides_things-are-much-more-complicated-feminis_804673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-lehrer-3442_both-sides_things-are-much-more-complicated-feminis_804673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/tom-lehrer-3442_both-sides_things-are-much-more-complicated-feminis_804673.jpg) > “Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think it's good. I have become, you might call it mature - I would call it senile - and I can see both sides. But you can't write a satirical song with 'but on the other hand' in it, or 'however'. It's got to be one-sided.” [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## 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 highlights the tension between nuanced debate and the demand for clear, single‑sided satire, noting that complexity is often stripped away for comedic effect. **In simple terms:** Complex issues get oversimplified in satire. Key Takeaway Embrace nuance, even in humor. Themes satire debate feminism media complexity Mood ironic critical thought‑provoking Type parody social commentary When to use this quote - stand‑up comedy - political commentary - media analysis Key Concepts cultural criticism artistic constraints Questions to Reflect On - How can humor address complexity without losing its edge? - What are the risks of oversimplifying contentious topics? A Different Perspective Satire may lose depth when forced to be one‑sided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Both sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both-sides/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) [Satirical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satirical/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > ['Take Her Up to Monto' is a very satirical song. I don't really like people calling it a folk song because it kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roisin-murphy/take-her-up-to-monto-is-a-very-satirical-song-i-don-t-really-like/) [Roisin Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roisin-murphy/) > [ “But we \[women\] are only at the beginning \[of revamping feminism\]. And our strictures on each other prove this. Our enforcement of thinness, of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/but-we-women-are-only-at-the-beginning-of-revamping-feminism-and-our/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“Feminism is itself a challenge. Feminism is a challenge to the way things are in the world. It is by definition an oppositional movement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/feminism-is-itself-a-challenge-feminism-is-a-challenge-to-the-way/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [The problem is that America is still so racist - I guess it's hard to find another word for it ­ - that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-problem-is-that-america-is-still-so-racist-i-guess-it-s-hard-to/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [From what I understand from talking with older friends and feminists, I think that once I enter the workforce and start to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-zeilinger/from-what-i-understand-from-talking-with-older-friends-and-feminists/) [Julie Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-zeilinger/) > [The media has bought into the whole social revolution, the Kinsey ideas, and has been completely taken over by the feminists. And the feminists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/the-media-has-bought-into-the-whole-social-revolution-the-kinsey/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [Historians who write about families are usually feminists who think in terms of gender relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ridley/historians-who-write-about-families-are-usually-feminists-who-think/) [Jane Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ridley/) > [We feminists think that women deserve the right NOT to prostitute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-farley/we-feminists-think-that-women-deserve-the-right-not-to-prostitute/) Melissa Farley > [ \[Feminists think difference in men and women\] is all social. 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Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Only art is capable of dismantling the repressive effects of a senile social system that continues to totter along the deathline: to dismantle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-beuys/only-art-is-capable-of-dismantling-the-repressive-effects-of-a-senile/) [Joseph Beuys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-beuys/) > [When you become senile, you won't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-you-become-senile-you-won-t-know-it/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Tom Lehrer > [Plagiarize, plagiarize, / Let no man's work evade your eyes, / Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, / Don't shade your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/plagiarize-plagiarize-let-no-man-s-work-evade-your-eyes-remember-why/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When someone makes a move Of which we don't approve, Who is it that always intervenes? U.N. and O.A.S., They have their place, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/when-someone-makes-a-move-of-which-we-don-t-approve-who-is-it-that/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-m-not-tempted-to-write-a-song-about-george-w-bush-i-couldn-t-figure/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't solicit for your sister, it's not nice. 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In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-am-never-forget-the-day-i-first-meet-the-great-lobachevsky-in-one/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Disclaimer: If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared to not only retract it, but also to deny under oath I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/disclaimer-if-anyone-disagrees-with-anything-i-say-i-am-quite/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't write naughty words on the wall if you can't spell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-write-naughty-words-on-the-wall-if-you-can-t-spell/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-don-t-want-to-satirise-george-bush-and-his-puppeteers-i-want-to/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/san-francisco-is-a-city-of-twenty-something-millionaire-white-kids/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [On Christmas day you can't get sore, Your fellow man you must adore, There's time to cheat him all the more The other three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/on-christmas-day-you-can-t-get-sore-your-fellow-man-you-must-adore/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Be prepared, and be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/be-prepared-and-be-careful-not-to-do-your-good-deeds-when-there-s-no/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [There's something mathematically satisfying about music: notes fit together and harmony and all that. And mathematics has to do with abstractions and making connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/there-s-something-mathematically-satisfying-about-music-notes-fit/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) [Explore all 130 Tom Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More Both sides quotes > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [There's no way to have a peace agreement unless the mediator or negotiator looks at both sides from an equal basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/there-s-no-way-to-have-a-peace-agreement-unless-the-mediator-or/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [It's almost inevitable there's going to be an escalation on both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-luther/it-s-almost-inevitable-there-s-going-to-be-an-escalation-on-both-sides/) Bill Luther > [I have yet to see someone attack Obama over his report card. A lot of people I talk to from both sides of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-have-yet-to-see-someone-attack-obama-over-his-report-card-a-lot-of/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [I have an office full of product from brands trying to be in videos and an inbox full of songs from artists, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kluger/i-have-an-office-full-of-product-from-brands-trying-to-be-in-videos/) [Adam Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kluger/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) > [When the war ends, it will be found that there was an equal amount of 'thuggery' practiced on both sides, that terrible things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-jones/when-the-war-ends-it-will-be-found-that-there-was-an-equal-amount-of/) [Rufus Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-jones/) > [I find that Americans are all in the middle somewhere, except for the extreme nuts, and extreme nuts on both sides are the loudest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/i-find-that-americans-are-all-in-the-middle-somewhere-except-for-the/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [My family was musical on both sides. My father's family had a famous flautist and a classical pianist. 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So, naturally, those intellectuals who don't have that experience have difficulty in comprehending it. But I think it made… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-camus/albert-camus-positions-are-sensed-so-naturally-those-intellectuals/) [Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-camus/) [Browse all 597 Both sides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both-sides/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think it's good. I have become, you might call it mature - I would call it senile - and I can see both sides. But you can't write a satirical song with 'but on the other hand' in it, or 'however'. 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